The quartet at the end of the concert.
Program
String Quartet F-Major, Hob. III:17 (Serenade Quartet) by Joseph Haydn.
String Quartet in A-minor, Op. 13 by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.
String Quartet No. 8 in C-minor, Op. 110 by Dimitri Shostokovich.
Performers
Hovhannes Baghdasaryan, violin; Makrouhi Hagel, violin; Sebastian Marock, viola; Theresia Rosendorfer, cello.
Compared to our recent experience sitting in the back of the Main Hall, today's was much better
I feel I need to repeat that I am not a chamber music person every time I write about chamber music. However, I must say today's concert was great, even though I had little knowledge of the three pieces performed.
Haydn's quartets have a distinctive feel to them. They generally sound more complicated than his symphonies (even though quartets have fewer parts), and make one wonder if Haydn indeed was more than 20 years Mozart's senior. The slow movement contains a lovely, and well-known, melody. Another example of a well-known quartet melody is from Tchaikovsky's First String Quartet. (It was quite difficult to recall how the Tchaikovsky sounded while listening to Haydn's.) The quartet lasted about 15 minutes. Haydn's compositions sometimes are numbered using the "Hoboken" system (as in the Program), but this is also known as Op. 3, No. 5.
Mendelssohn's is a solid composition that allowed great interplay among the string players. I did say I don't know much about chamber music, didn't I? That didn't stop me from enjoying the performance.
The Shostakovich quartet isn't as gripping as some of his other works. (I would probably have a different assessment if I had read up on the work before the performance.) However, he used repeatedly the "Shostakovich Theme" that I first heard in the cello concerto, and in this piece - it seems - more frequently and with more variations. Embarrassingly I have not heard the theme in other works by the composer. The Wikipedia on this theme (D-S-C-H) lists eight compositions of Shostakovich's where this theme was used, and mentions it is used in all the movements in this quartet.
Entrance to the Kleiner Saal is at the other end of the building.
Not sure who these people are. The small plaque has the name of the sculptor; if it lists the names of the people depicted, the print would be too small for me to read anyway.
This hall seats 639 people (per web search). It has a simple elegance to it.
Even with all these misgivings (i.e., inadequacies on my part), this was an enjoyable concert. Our seats were in the first row of the balcony. Anne chose to sit further back by the aisle to accommodate her mobility problems.
Today was Hamburg Marathon day, so many buses were not running. We walked to the Baumwell U-station to catch the train, but had trouble getting the bus on the way back. It was easy enough to catch a taxi using the Uber APP.
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