Praised for their stage presence, fiery vitality and musical empathy, the dynamic Leonkoro Quartet are really going places … and fast. Founded in Berlin in 2019, within just a couple of years they were snatching coveted awards including First Prize at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition together with nine of the twelve special prizes, Grand Prize at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, MERITO String Quartet Award, and the Chamber Music Award of the Jürgen-Ponto Foundation.
Jonathan Schwarz - violin Amelie Wallner - violin Mayu Konoe - viola Lukas Schwarz - cello
First time I've heard this quartet playing, they were recommended to me yesterday - and then this popped up on my feed. Wonderful ensemble and clarity of articulation.
Why are the performers standing? The effect is strange for an ensemble, as if they think they are a marching band. There is no compelling reason for going against centuries of seated performance history for this affected nonsense.
So well matched, instruments, strong musical personalities creating a strong ensemble personality, ideal for these Haydn op 50 quartets. Thoroughly enjoyed every bar! Couldn't be better.
This wonderfully-crafted performance follows the stylistic template laid out by the Juilliard String Quartet in the Mann / Cohen / Hillyer / Adam configuration. Their recorded interpretation, from the early 1970s, revolutionized both how we hear Bartók and what we expect of a top-flight string quartet-and this is certainly an excellent ensemble. The comment I would make is one of character; it is that Bartók wrote a wedding dance here-but today it’s almost always put across as a war dance. To listen to Bartók’s own performances as a pianist is to realize his lineage is not at all that of a Liszt-style barn burner, but of a very refined, classic performative tradition. The problem is, we have then a situation that pits the composer’s intentions against the performers’ ability to leave an audience tingling with an extraordinary visceral experience. Which is more important? That’s a philosophical decision.
Very convincing performance...you make it sound easy...very nice moments and excellent timing where needed. I really enjoyed and will listen to you often. Congratulations.
When I heard the Leonkoro perform at the Wigmore Hall in London I could hardly imagine that what I was watching and hearing within that perfect acoustic was actually unfolding in front of me. Extraordinary and entirely wonderful. Everything was reinterpreted with such elan and vigour - bliss.
Bravo ! ( From the land of the rising sun. ) I am looking forward to enjoy your Beethoven's Op. 59-1 ,etc. on April 27. 2024 at Tokyo Daiichi-Seimei Hall .
This new fashion of "standing quartets" ruins the idea of quartet as an intimate union of public and four musicians but creates instead four disconnected soloists.
@@hugovlugter Hi, not sure that was what the original comment meant, I thought standing as in " here we are this what we do ". Your idea may make more sense.
Musically, glorious, if perhaps sometimes a little fast... But you need to change the video angles - at least three cameras, with close-ups of performers, features of the environment, instruments etc, to accomplish an outstanding video. It is relatively easy to set up and edit.
