Outcast: Alfred Schnittke - String Quartet No. 3 Matangi Quartet

• Alfred Schittke (1934 - 1998): String Quartet No. 3:
• 1Schittke: String Quartet No. 3: I. Andante06:07
• 2Schittke: String Quartet No. 3: II. Agitato07:23
• 3Schittke: String Quartet No. 3: III. Pesante08:26
• Total Runtime21:56

Info for Outcast: Alfred Schnittke - String Quartet No. 3

With their album 'Outcast', Matangi makes its case for artistic freedom and for musical expressiveness that stems from repression. The combination of these three compositions on one album ensures that 'silent' resistance is given its voice.

Composers are not always free to compose what they want. This album is an ode to the musical 'outcast': three Soviet-Russian composers who wrote music that went dangerously against the taste of the regime under which they lived. Described as 'avant-garde' or 'western', they stuck their necks out for their work, risking their careers or - in the case of Dmitri Shostakovich under Stalin - even their personal freedom. Shostakovich always had a packed suitcase ready for the eventuality of his arrest by the KGB. Alfred Schnittke was also severely thwarted by his own government. His work was viewed with suspicion and performances were regularly prevented. In addition to his musical oeuvre, the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov is known for his political opposition to the rulers of the former Soviet Union and present-day Russia. The Matangi Quartet is an ardent advocate of Silvestrov's music and has developed a special personal and musical bond with him. In 2017 he was Artist in Residence of Matangi's own (Un)heard Music Festival.

Matangi Quartet:
Karsten Kleijer, viola
Daniel Torrico, violin
Arno van der Vuurst, cello
Maria-Paula Majoor, violin

The Matangi Quartet
was founded in 1999 by four young musicians then studying at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and the Conservatory of Rotterdam. In 2003 Matangi completed the two-year, full-time course at the Netherlands String Quartet Academy under the direction of Stefan Metz (cellist, Orlando Quartet). At the Academy, the Matangi Quartet had the opportunity to take lessons from international renowned musicians, including the members of the Amadeus Quartet. The quartet also received intensive mentoring from Henk Guittart (violist, Schönberg Quartet) for several years.

The Matangi Quartet has since developed into a regular performer in the Dutch chamber music scene and abroad. With their impassioned playing and smart presentation, Maria-Paula, Daniel, Karsten and Arno epitomize a new generation of classical musicians. They are often characterized by words such as communicative, provocative and refreshingly versatile. The Matangi Quartet has shared the stage with various top-class classical musicians such as Miranda van Kralingen, Tania Kross, Ivo Janssen, Paolo Giacometti and Severin von Eckardstein. The quartet has also been invited to perform in various festivals, including the Delft Chamber Music Festival, the Aix-en-Provence Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Carthage Festival in Tunisia, the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, the International Conservatoire Festival in St Petersburg and the North Sea Jazz festival in the Netherlands.

In 2002 Matangi was awarded the prestigious Kersjes van de Groenekan Award, an annual prize awarded to exceptional chamber music talent in the Netherlands. In 2008 the quartet won third prize at the International Joseph Joachim Chamber Music Competition in Weimar. The Matangi Quartet released several CDs issued by Challenge Records International which all received great critical acclaim. The latest releases were the CDs ‘Mendelssohn’ (2009), ‘Candybox’ (2010) and 'Haydn's Nature' (2013). Together with viola da gamba player Ralph Rousseau the quartet won the Edison Audience Award 2009, for their CD ‘Chansons d’amour’ (Challenge Records 2008). The CD ‘Testimoni’ with Martin Fondse (composition and vibrandoneon) and Eric Vloeimans (trumpet) was awarded the Edison Jazz prize 2012.

Matangi regularly participates in innovative crossover projects and has performed in collaboration with artists such as cabaretiers Herman van Veen and Youp van ’t Hek, bandoneon player Carel Kraayenhof, jazz trumpeter Eric Vloeimans, jazz pianist Michiel Braam, DJ Kypski, jazz vocalists Mathilde Santing and Renske Taminiau, singer songwriters Lory Liebermann and Tom McRae. These pioneering excursions beyond the borders of classical music have resulted in Matangi winning an enthusiastic new public for the string quartet. No less important, this has provided a source of inspiration for infusing performances of the rich classical repertoire built up over the past 250 years – from Haydn to Adès – with new élan. For essentially, the Matangi are focused on just one thing: letting the audience palpably experience the energy, passion and excitement that is inherent in all good music.

All four musicians perform on instruments of Dutch workmanship. The cello and first violin have been provided on loan by the Dutch National Musical Instrument Foundation.

This album contains no booklet.