Eliot Quartett
Maryana Osipova violin
Alexander Sachs violin
Dmitry Hahalin viola
Michael Preuß cello

program
Ludwig van Beethoven
Grosse Fuge (Great Fugue) in B-flat major for string quartet, Op. 133
Ouverture. Allegro – Allegro – Fuga
Franz Schubert
String Quartet in G Major, D. 887
Allegro molto moderato
Andante un poco mosso
Scherzo.Allegro vivace e Trio
Allegro assai
Pavel Haas
String Quartet No. 2, "From the Monkey Mountains"

Founded in Frankfurt am Main in 2014, the Eliot Quartett has established itself over the past decade as one of the leading ensembles on the international string quartet scene. After garnering accolades in international competitions, in the 2024/2025 season they are fulfilling a dream: performing the complete cycle of Shostakovich’s string quartets. The Quartet takes its name from the American writer T.S.

Eliot, who drew inspiration from Ludwig van Beethoven’s string quartets. The program opens with Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge, where the composer, reaching his final quartet cycle, achieves one of the highest examples of instrumental polyphony of all time. This is followed by the last of Franz Schubert’s string quartets, where the predominant role of the cello defines the overall "color" of the piece. The concert concludes with Moravian composer Pavel Haas and his From the Monkey Mountains, which he described as "a lighthearted work dominated by the impetus of movement.” Haas was among the Jewish musicians deported to the notorious Terezín concentration camp and murdered in Auschwitz. Founded in Frankfurt am Main in 2014, the Eliot Quartett has established itself over the past decade as one of the leading ensembles on the international string quartet scene. After garnering accolades in international competitions (such as Second Prize at the Salzburg Mozart Competition, Second Prize at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, three special prizes at the German Music Competition, and First Prize with a special award for the best interpretation of a work by Szymanowski at the Karol Szymanowski Competition), it has been invited to perform in major European concert halls such as the Salzburg Mozarteum, the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Frankfurt Alte Oper, the Beethovenhaus in Bonn, and the Berlin Philharmonie.

The Quartet has also performed at the Leipzig Bach Festival, the Kassel Music Days, the Styriarte in Graz, the Würzburg Mozart Festival, the Rheingau Musik Festival, the Ludwigsburg Festival, the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, the International Shostakovich Days in Gohrisch, and the Berlin Music Festival. In the 2024/2025 season, the Eliot Quartett is fulfilling a dream cherished since its founding, performing all of Shostakovich’s string quartets as part of its DSCH & Beyond concert cycle at the Holzhausenschlösschen of the Frankfurt Citizens' Foundation, the Carinthian Summer, MITO SettembreMusica, and in Hamilton, Canada. The Eliot Quartett trained at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt am Main with Hubert Buchberger and Tim Vogler and at the Escuela Superior de Música in Madrid in the masterclass of Günter Pichler. Further decisive inspiration came from collaborations with Alfred Brendel and the Belcea Quartet. Several of its recordings have been released by the Genuin label. The Quartet takes its name from the American writer T.S. Eliot, who drew inspiration from the innovative late string quartets of Ludwig van Beethoven.