The Stradivari Quartet performs on a collection of historical instruments, including a 1715 'Aurea' Stradivarius violin, a 1717 'Suggia' Stradivarius cello, a 1767 G.B. Guadagnini violin, and a 1690 viola by Hendrick Willems.
Compositional Technique
Schumann's string quartets combine the intimate tone of his lieder and piano works with the thematic development power of Beethoven and a tendency to use canonic procedures.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Clara Schumann, a celebrated pianist and composer, described her husband's quartets as 'new but at the same time clear, subtly elaborated and always in keeping with a quartet.'
Performer Biography
The Stradivari Quartet, formed in 2007, comprises musicians from Switzerland, China, and Poland, and performs about 40 concerts annually worldwide.
Composer Biography
Schumann prepared for composing his string quartets by studying works by classical masters like Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Haydn, Mozart, and Schubert.
Composition History
Robert Schumann composed his three String Quartets, Op. 41, in barely two months in 1842, presenting them to his wife Clara Schumann for her 23rd birthday.
Composition History
Schumann dedicated his Op. 41 String Quartets to his friend Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, a composer and conductor, after Mendelssohn praised the works.
