Schubert: String Quintet Op. 163 Arcanto Quartett & Olivier Marron

• Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828): String Quintet in C Major Op. 163 D.956:
• 1 I. Allegro ma non troppo 19:27
• 2 II. Adagio 13:35
• 3 III. Scherzo. Presto 10:19
• 4 IV. Allegretto 09:16
• Total Runtime 52:37

Info for Schubert: String Quintet Op. 163

„The Arcanto Quartett, founded in 2002 and consisting of four fine soloists Antje Weithaas and Daniel Sepec (violins), Tabea Zimmermann (viola) and Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello) brings dazzling invention to music of all kinds. For Schubert's Quintet they're joined by cellist Olivier Marron, an ideal partner. Can the market bear another recording of a work so popular as to be almost hackneyed? Yes, when the playing has the detail, the muscularity, the daring and sparkle displayed here. Tempi are brisk but not rushed; vibrato is kept under tight rein and the slow movement sings tenderly rather than sobs, making it all the more expressive. The outer movements shine in perfect but vigorous ensemble.“ (Fiona Maddocks, The Observer)

„The early difficulties of Schubert s late String Quintet (it was rejected by his publisher, not performed in public until23 years after his death, nor published for a further three years) seem incomprehensible now that the work has such a hallowed place in the repertoire. The piece has a draw in a chamber music programme like that of a star soloist in an orchestral concert. The Arcanto Quartett and Olivier Marron add to its aura by delivering a recording that sounds as if came from a group of musicians who manage to approach the music without the usual baggage of preconceptions about how it should go in performance. Not only is the music illuminated in new, intriguing ways, but the eschewal of familiar sentimentality frequently makes it more touching than usual and also more expressively probing. Not to be missed.“ (Michael Dervan, Irish Times)

„This version is exceptionally well recorded, with superb balance among the instruments.“ (Michael Tanner, BBC Music Magazine)

Arcanto Quartett:

Antje Weithaas, violin
Daniel Sepec, violin
Tabea Zimmermann, viola
Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello

Olivier Marron, Cello

Arcanto Quartett
is one of the most stimulating and enjoyable ensembles to listen to, no matter what it is playing. Freshness, close rapport, finesse, and a blend of eloquence and vitality have been hallmarks of its style ever since its debut.” (TELEGRAPH)

Antje Weithaas, Daniel Sepec, Tabea Zimmermann, and Jean-Guihen Queyras founded the Arcanto Quartet in 2002 after several years of playing chamber music together in various combinations. The four musical soul mates, who also share a close personal friendship, quickly took the chamber music world by storm with their spirited playing, fuelled by the joy of bringing music to life.

The Arcanto Quartet’s highly successful concert debut took place in 2004 in Stuttgart. Since then, the quartet has performed all over the world, for example at New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Vancouver Recital Series, the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, the Théâtre du Châtelet and the Cité de la Musique Paris, the Philharmonie Berlin and the Vienna Konzerthaus. They have played at the Rheingau Music Festival and the Helsinki, Edinburgh and Montreux festivals, and also toured Israel, Japan and North America.

Highlights of the 2015/16 season included performances at the festivals in Edinburgh, Schwetzingen and Lugano, at the Philharmonie Cologne and at the Mozarteum Salzburg. In addition they went on tour in North America and played concerts at the Carnegie Hall, in Montréal, Chicago and Vancouver. Their musical partners in this season were the young cellist Maximilian Hornung and Jörg Widmann. Following their concerts at this year’s Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, they will begin a long-standing sabbatical.

So far the quartet has released five highly acclaimed CD albums on Harmonia Mundi, among them a recording of Schubert’s String Quintet with Jean-Guihen Queyras’ student Olivier Marron, and a recording of Mozart’s String Quartet KV 421 and Clarinet Quintet together with Jörg Widmann.

Olivier Marron
In July 2004 Olivier Marron won the first prize of the international « Johann Sebastian Bach competition » in Leipzig/Germany as well as the prize of the audience and a special prize for beeing the youngest finalist. After the competition he performed in concerts in the old opera house of Frankfurt/Germany and in the Bach Festival Leipzig, and also at the Olympus Music Festival, in St. Petersburg, with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic.

Olivier studied with Jean Deplace in Lyon, and Jean-Guihen Queyras in Stuttgart.

In December 2005, he won a special Price at the Domnick Competition in Stuttgart, for his Interpretation of Contemporary Music.

Olivier is supported by the Mécénat Musical Société Général, Culturesfrance, and received a Price from the « Fondation Simone et Cino del Duca-Institut de France », in Paris.

Olivier was invited to play chamber music with Antje Weithaas, Tabea Zimmermann, Antoine Tamestit, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Alexandre Tharaud, Juliette Hurel, Kari Kriikku , Olivier Vivarès, Stefan Wirth, the Arcanto and Vogler Quartets and many others. He appeard in the Philharmonie in Berlin, Wigmore Hall in London, in the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, The Tonhalle in Zürich, during the Aldeburgh Festival, and Bachfest Leipzig.

Due to his interest for contemporary music Olivier is playing with the « ensemble contrechamps » of Geneva/Switzerland, and had the chance to work with composers like Pierre Boulez, George Benjamin, Gyorgy Kurtag, Heinz Holliger, Helmut Lachenmann, Beat Furrer, Magnus Lindberg und George Benjamin.

From January2009 until March 2011, Olivier has been teaching at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Stuttgart, as Assistant from Jean-Guihen Queyras.

Olivier plays on a cello by Jonas Gierten (2012, Wiesbaden).

Booklet for Schubert: String Quintet Op. 163