Haydn, Schulhoff
Quartetto Goldberg

Quartetto Goldberg

Jingzhi Zhang, violin

Giacomo Lucato, violin

Matilde Simionato, viola

Martino Simionato, cello

Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)

String Quartet No. 37 in B minor, Op. 33 No. 1, Hob. III:37

Erwin Schulhoff (1894–1942)

Five Pieces for String Quartet

35’ | Ticket €10

The Quartetto Goldberg — a young ensemble acclaimed for its refinement, expressive momentum, and interpretative maturity — presents in the Sala degli Antenati at Palazzo d’Arco a tribute to two crucial moments in the history of the string quartet.

The concert opens with Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet No. 37 in B minor, Op. 33, the first of the so-called “Russian Quartets,” composed in 1781 and dedicated to Grand Duke Paul of Russia. In this work, Haydn introduces a new style of writing: the inner voices no longer serve merely as accompaniment, but actively participate in the thematic development, engaging in dialogue with the principal voices. Furthermore, the traditional Minuet is replaced by a Scherzo, giving the work a more brilliant, ironic, and unified character.

More than a century later, Erwin Schulhoff revisits and deconstructs this tradition in his Five Pieces of 1923. This suite, structured in short and contrasting movements, recalls dance forms of the past — such as the Viennese waltz, serenade, Czech dance, tango, and tarantella — but transforms them through a modern language shaped by dissonance, incisive rhythms, and a strong avant-garde spirit.

Text by Desirée Blundi