EIF 26: Gringolts Quartet

Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh - 24/08/26

Ilya Gringolts (violin), Anahit Kurtikyan (violin), Silvia Simionescu (viola), Claudius Herrmann (violoncello). 

The interweaving of three short works celebrating György Kurtág’s centenary with the four movements of Schubert’s String Quartet No. 15 in G was a clever and artistically fascinating piece of programming for the Gringolts Quartet’s recital. Musically, it illustrated the stark contrasts, but also surprising moments of delicate symmetry, between the two composers.

Schubert and Kurtág are linked across two centuries by a shared fascination with miniature musical forms. Kurtág has long treated Schubert not merely as a historic model, but as an active interlocutor. His huge four-hand piano cycle, Játékok (Games), features delicate transcriptions of Schubert pieces alongside original homages.

This morning it was Kurtág miniatures that appeared after every movement of Schubert’s final 1826 quartet, published posthumously in 1851. Less usually for him, the quartet explores extended major and minor modes, reinforcing them with dynamic contrasts, subtle textures, and pizzicato. The first half of the concert opened with the lengthy Allegro molto moderato (in G major), based around chromatic descending fourths within alternating major and minor modes, and ended with the dramatic contrasts of the Andante un poco moto (in E minor). Both were executed beautifully.

In between, the Gringolts segued apparently effortlessly to the very different demands of Kurtág’s Officium breve Op. 28, in memory of Andreae Szervánsky, whose Arioso interrotto inspires the final movement. This piece is structured into 15 very short movements, eschewing traditional musical development in favour of aphoristic episodes of considerable contrast. These harbour allusions to Webern’s serialism as well as the lyricism of the dedicatee.

Kurtág’s brief Hommage à Jacob Obrecht opened the second half of the programme. Written in 2004/5, it marks the 500th anniversary of the death of the Renaissance composer, and operates in the form of a double variation, alternatingly mournful and bright. A real delight.   

Once again, this led directly into the third movement of the Schubert, the wispy scherzo, allegro vivace and allegretto (in B minor) featuring a trio, an accompanied duet between cello and first violin, then first violin and viola, then cello and first violin once more. The Gringolts handled the transitions delightfully.

Next we had Kurtág’s 12 Microludes for String Quartet, Op. 13 (Hommage à Mihály András), finished in 1978. Each corresponds to the twelve degrees of the chromatic scale, and most of them last under a minute. Their delivery depends upon intense emotional concentration and technical attention. Webern is definitely a ghost presence here. There is so much packed into such brief time spans.

The programme ended with the Allegro assai (G major) from Schubert 15, which exhibits even more extremes in exchange between major and minor modes than the first movement. It also moves between lyricism and rhythmic vitality.

Overall, this was a quite extraordinary display of dexterity, concentration and emotional range from the Gringolts Quartet. The ambiguity and adventure of one of Schubert’s most exploratory works was emphasised by injecting into it the pioneering expressivism and disciplined economy of György Kurtág, whose work deserves far more