Friends of Chamber Music presents the Schumann Quartet in concert, February 11

Making its Vancouver debut, the Cologne, Germany-based ensemble has earned critical acclaim around the globe

By Gail Johnson

Schumann Quartet. Photo by Harald Hoffmann

Friends of Chamber Music presents the Schumann Quartet on February 11 at the Vancouver Playhouse

ERIK, KEN, AND Mark Schumann are brothers who have been playing string instruments together ever since their early childhood years. With Erik and Ken on violin and Mark on cello, they form three-fourths of the Schumann Quartet, which is rounded out by Veit Hertenstein on viola. Formed in 2007 in Cologne, Germany, the ensemble has gone on to earn critical acclaim around the world.

Local audiences have the chance to experience the quartet live in its Vancouver debut at a Friends of Chamber Music presentation on February 11.

Having released six albums, the group will perform Mozart’s String Quartet No. 20 in D major, K. 499, “Hoffmeister”; Prokofiev’s String Quartet No. 1 in B minor, Op. 50; and Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1 in E minor.

BBC Music Magazine has described the quartet as having “high emotional intelligence” and “supreme technical accomplishment”, while Süddeutsche Zeitung praised the group’s “fire and energy” and “sparkling virtuosity and a willingness to astonish”.

“A work really develops only in a live performance,” the quartet says on its website. “That is ‘the real thing’, because we ourselves never know what will happen. On the stage, all imitation disappears, and you automatically become honest with yourself. Then you can create a bond with the audience—communicate with it in music.”  

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