In this concert, the Arisva Quartet of the Cologne Classical Ensemble will perform a very special work for Cologne and international chamber music: after more than 40 years, the string quartet op. 68 by the outstanding Cologne composer Heinz Pauels will be heard. This work will be preceded by the wonderful and all too rarely performed second string quartet by Alexander Borodin.
In 1984, the Mannheim String Quartet performed his String Quartet op. 68 in Cologne on the occasion of Heinz Pauels' 75th birthday. The composer had written the work in 1950; there was only one premiere in New York and then the Cologne concert. After that, the quartet was never performed again and the parts from the performance no longer exist. With the help of the composer's daughter, Mrs Rahman-Pauels, Tobias Kassung managed to obtain the handwritten score from the Historical Archive of the City of Cologne. Kassung used it to recreate the individual parts and the Arisva Quartet meticulously prepared this magnificent and almost forgotten work of chamber music.
Many thanks also go to the Mannheim String Quartet, who fortunately recorded the quartet at the time and made the recordings available.
Programme: Alexander Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 in D major (1881)
Heinz Pauels: String Quartet No. 2 op. 68 (1950) second public performance since 1983
This concert is part of our series Kölner Klassik © NRW 2024, where works of recent and new music that are outstanding in their quality and have a connection to NRW are performed side by side with more well-known chamber music.
