Quartet masters the art of changing tracks

THE INTRIGUING juxtaposition of the ripely romantic 19th-century Johannes Brahms and the fiercely austere 20th-century Anton von Webern will be one of the attractions of an unusual chamber music concert by the acclaimed Artemis Quartet at City Hall on March 8. The other draw is the young Artemis Quartet itself, which has built up a name as one of Europe's leading chamber music ensembles.

The programme includes all three string quartets by Brahms, interspersed with short works by the Austrian composer Webern.

The quartet's cellist Eckart Runge said the group was fond of combining in a single programme music that was 'so-called established' and 'so-called modern'.

'It is very interesting to juxtapose Brahms and Webern because of their extreme differences - Webern being very condensed and very compact, reduced to the essence, and Brahms, of course, being more luminous and symphonic,' Runge said.

The German composer Brahms (1833-1897) is one of the giants of the late Romantic period of music, while the Austrian Webern (1883-1945) was a member of the Second Viennese School and an exponent of first atonal music and then serialism. That icon of 20th century music, Igor Stravinsky, referred to Webern's short but highly concentrated compositions as 'dazzling diamonds'.

'Brahms was very much connected to tradition,' Runge said. 'He certainly was not a revolutionary composer as he claimed himself to be. He did, however, create new things that made him very modern, for example, the rhythmical variety and complexity of his music.

'Webern, on the other hand, is much more connected to the Romantic tradition than one would expect. His music is deconstructed minimalistic music that is mathematically organised and is essentially a reduction: every two notes, every crescendo, every little moment is a sigh, is a gesture, is something really human.'