Dutch rabbits, Dutch tulips, Dutch cocoa, double Dutch.
Seems like everything is going Dutch these days – even the Carpe Diem String Quartet.
The quartet stopped by the Classical 101 studio recently to tell us about the concerts they’ll be performing this weekend in Columbus.
In connection with the Columbus Museum of Art’s current exhibition Life in the Age of Rembrandt, the group played selections of string quartets by composers who were born in or worked in The Netherlands. Plus, they gave us a preview of American composer John Heins’ new quartet inspired by Rembrandt and written just for Carpe Diem.
The Carpe Diem String Quartet performs the world premiere of Heins’ String Quartet No. 3 “Van Rijn” at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March at the Columbus Museum of Art. The program also features string quartets by Dutch composer Henriette Bosmans and German-born composer Julius Röntgen, who lived virtually his entire adult life in The Netherlands.
Röntgen’s music bears the mark of the music of his friend Johannes Brahms – or, as Carpe Diem cellist Greg Sauer pointed out, maybe Brahms’ music bears the mark of Röntgen’s.
Bosmans’ string quartet sounds much like the work of French Impressionists, especially Debussy. And it’s hard not to hear some of the colorful exuberance of Richard Strauss in John Heins’ String Quartet No. 3.
But don’t just read about this gorgeous music – listen to it in the video above.
