Leipzig String Quartet coming to AU campus

By Beverly Harvey

Published: February 16, 2008

The Leipzig String Quartet not only bears the name of the city known as one of Germany’s top cultural centers, the ensemble also represents their European hometown’s rich musical
history and sound.

The German string quartet will perform at 7:30 p.m. CST Wednesday at the Goodwin Music Building hall on the Auburn University campus, as part of the Auburn Chamber Music Society’s 2007-2008 season.

The program will mark the first time the award-winning Leipzig String Quartet has performed in Auburn or Alabama, according to Virginia Transue, co-president of the Auburn Chamber Music
Society.

Three of the four members of the Leipzig String Quartet were first chairs in the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, under conductor Kurt Masur, according to Erica Shupp, president of Shupp Artist Management and American representative for the quartet.

The Gewandhaus Orchestra, established in the late 18th century, shares the same “warm, round sound” as the Leipzig String Quartet, Shupp said. The quartet’s connections to Leipzig, however, do not end there.

During the Auburn concert, the quartet will perform a piece by 19th century German composer Felix Mendelssohn, who founded a conservatory in Leipzig to train members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Shupp said.

Shupp credits Mendelssohn with creating the “Gewandhaus sound” that has become a signature part of the Leipzig String Quartet performances. The group also has an “extraordinary” repertoire of contemporary music, she said.

The Leipzig String Quartet has had the same members for 20 years, a rare feat for a quartet, Shupp said. The ensemble performs as many as 120 concerts around the world every year.

The German string quartet has recorded the complete quartet works of Franz Schubert, as well as the complete Ludwig van Beethoven quartet cycle, which Shupp said is the musical equivalent of climbing Mount Olympus.

The Leipzig String Quartet program in Auburn will open with Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Opus 13 and end with Beethoven’s Quartet in E flat major, Opus 127.

“It’s going to be fun to hear Mendelssohn and then late Beethoven,” Transue said. “Because Mendelssohn was so influenced by Beethoven.”

Giuseppe Verdi’s String Quartet in E minor will be performed after the Mendelssohn piece.

“It’s exciting to get to hear,” Transue said.

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If You Go:
Who: Leipzig String Quartet, part of the Auburn Chamber Music Society’s 2007-2008 season

Where: Goodwin Music Building on the Auburn University campus

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday

Admission: $20 adults, $5 college students with ID, school-age children admitted free

On the Web: auburnchambermusic.org; orleipzigquartet.com