Quatuor Leonis

The theme of Nature is omnipresent in the repertoire of the string quartet. Whether evoked in the literal sense or symbolised, it is a milestone in the history of music and remains a fundamental source of inspiration for composers.

In this special QUARTET STORY 'Nature', we'll be looking at extracts from works for quartet that evoke nature in different ways: Schubert and Haydn's bucolic and soothing nature, Beethoven's wild and grandiose elements, Debussy's aquatic world, Philipp Glass's wide open spaces, Dvorak's fauna, Bartòk's miniature world or the flight into Space in the stratospheric slow movement of Beethoven's Opus 135: Nature in all its splendour, from the infinitely small to the infinitely large.

Detailed musical program

Bucolic nature
J. HAYDN Opus 76 No. 4 "Sunrise" Allegro con spirito (8')
F. SCHUBERT D.804 "Rosamunde" Andante (7')

A tormented nature
L. VAN BEETHOVEN Opus 74 Presto (5')
J. HAYDN "7 last words" Terremoto (2')

Aquatic world
C. DEBUSSY Opus 10 in G minor Andantino gently
expressive (9')

Le vent
M. RAVEL Quartet in F Vif et agité (5')

Open spaces
A. PÄRT Fratres - extract (2')
P. GLASS Quartet No. 2 "Company" Mvts 2 and 4 (4')

Bird songs
A. DVÒRAK n°12 "Américain" Molto Vivace (4')

A world of insects
B. BARTÒK Sz.91 quartet n°4 Allegretto pizzicato (3')

Flight and Space: harmony of the spheres
L. VAN BEETHOVEN Opus 135 Lento assai (7')

Music: 55 minutes (without encore)
Presentation: 20 minutes