Schumann’s piano quartet and quintet

Elisabeth Leonskaya hardly needs an introduction. This highly respected and accomplished pianist is now almost 80 years old and has performed with virtually all the great classical musicians of her time, from Svjatoslav Richter to the Alban Berg Quartet. She has won acclaim in recent years for her recitals at the Muziekgebouw, where she performed Beethoven’s and Schubert’s last sonatas. And in 2022, she teamed up with the Streichquartett der Staatskapelle Berlin to deliver an ‘impressive Brahms marathon’ (De Nieuwe Muze). This time, the grande dame of the grand piano performs masterpieces by Schumann and Mendelssohn with her favourite string quartet.

The string quartet that was born out of the Staatskapelle Berlin in 2017 has found a formidable partner in Elisabeth Leonskaja. Together they work their magic on Robert Schumann’s Piano Quartet and Piano Quintet, two exceptionally successful pieces full of joie de vivre. Serving as a buffer between these pillars of romantic chamber music is Felix Mendelssohn’s poignant Sixth String Quartet, a homage to his sister Fanny, who died in May 1847. It was the last work he completed; he died in November of that same year.