Friedrich Gernsheim: String Quartets Vol. 3 Diogenes Quartet

• Friedrich Gernsheim (1839 - 1916): String Quartet No. 4 in E minor, Op. 66:
• 1 Gernsheim: String Quartet No. 4 in E minor, Op. 66: Allegro, ma molto moderato ed espressivo 10:36
• 2 Gernsheim: String Quartet No. 4 in E minor, Op. 66: Allegretto scherzando 06:25
• 3 Gernsheim: String Quartet No. 4 in E minor, Op. 66: Tema con Variazioni 10:04
• 4 Gernsheim: String Quartet No. 4 in E minor, Op. 66: Allegro con brio – un poco più animato – molto vivace 07:01
• String Quintet in D major, Op. 9:
• 5 Gernsheim: String Quintet in D major, Op. 9: Allegro 11:01
• 6 Gernsheim: String Quintet in D major, Op. 9: Allegretto moderato – molto vivace – Tempo I 03:40
• 7 Gernsheim: String Quintet in D major, Op. 9: Andante espressivo 09:23
• 8 Gernsheim: String Quintet in D major, Op. 9: Allegro molto vivace e con fuoco – stretto 06:08
• Total Runtime 01:04:18

Info for Friedrich Gernsheim: String Quartets Vol. 3

A few years ago, the composer Friedrich Gernsheim was to be made palatable to the world as the "romantic who invented the Winnetou melody": His music, it was said, was "catchy, to a certain extent barrier-free", his rediscovery "great fun". Of course, the anachronism of a coincidental equality of notes does as little for the recognition of artistic value as the degradation of the work to superficial entertainment. A work such as the fourth string quartet presented here is quite sufficient to demonstrate the whole seriousness of Brahms' friend in an exemplary manner: Elegant in its basic mood, spiced with an enchanting scherzo and glowing in its dramatic intensifications, the composition from 1900 proves to be a top-class masterpiece that leaves deep traces - traces, of course, whose beginnings go back a long way, as the first string quintet, a good thirty years older, reveals to anyone who knows how to listen seriously.

Gernsheim (*1839 Worms, †1916 Berlin) was a composer, pianist, conductor and music teacher who is represented in all music encyclopaedias but is hardly known to anyone. Wrongly so, as we now know. Gernsheim was not only a friend of Johannes Brahms – who left audible traces in his compositions – he was also an excellent, conservative German composer of the late Romantic period who was celebrated during his lifetime. He left behind an extensive oeuvre. He wrote many chamber music works for various instrumentations (piano trio, piano quintet and quartets, string quartets, etc.), concertos and symphonies. As a Jew, his works were not allowed to be performed during the National Socialist era and were probably forgotten for this reason. However, his works, especially his chamber music, deserve to be included in concert programs much more often.

Diogenes Quartet

Diogenes Quartett
We owe it to the same stroke of luck that the Diogenes Quartet will celebrate its 20th anniversary this season.

Founded in Munich in 1998, these four musical idealists worked together in their early years with such outstanding ensembles as the Amadeus Quartet and the LaSalle Quartet. Besides the masterpieces of the classical-romantic repertoire, they focus on performing unknown and contemporary compositions. They cultivate a close working relationship with the Munich composer Pierre-Dominique Ponnelle, recently giving the première of his Third String Quartet and receiving the dedication of his Fourth.

Their itinerary encompasses not only the Würzburg Mozart Festival and the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier but regular tours of nearby and distant countries. Highlights of the past include a tour of Mexico, and this year they will give guest performances in Italy and continue their regular tours of Spain, where among other things they will perform Bohuslav Martinů’s Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra.

Among their chamber music partners are Anna Prohaska, Tyler Duncan, Lydia Dubrovskaya, Priya Mitchell, Hariolf Schlichtig, Roland Glassl, Wen-Sinn Yang, Nabil Shehata, Thorsten Johanns and the Henschel Quartet.

The ensemble also has a penchant for crossover programmes, as when they thrilled audiences with ‘A Dream of Brahms’, played jointly with the jazz quartet of violinist Max Grosch. No less important to them is music outreach, as can be seen in their many children’s concerts, workshop recitals and chamber music clinics. Since 2015 they have also been active as cultural ambassadors for SOS Children’s Villages.

The discography of the Diogenes Quartet is as long as it is varied. In addition to many première recordings, they produced a highly acclaimed complete set of Schubert quartets for the Brilliant Classics label. In autumn 2019 their recording of Max Reger’s String Sextet and Clarinet Quintet will be released on cpo.

The quartet owes its name to their longstanding friendship with Rudolph C. Bettschart, the former co-owner of the Swiss publishing firm Diogenes, who deeply impressed them with his personality and career and will always remain lovingly enshrined in their memory .

Booklet for Friedrich Gernsheim: String Quartets Vol. 3