Who were the musicians who inspired Beethoven, challenged him and brought his music to life? One of the most important was the violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh, who led the quartet that gave the first performances of many of Beethoven’s string quartets.

Together with Nora Taksdal, one of Norway’s leading violists, whose appetite for history and philosophy knows no bounds, we explore the life of Schuppanzigh and the story behind the three celebrated Razumovsky Quartets.

The Engegård Quartet performs the first of these, Op. 59 No. 1 — a work that transformed the possibilities of the string quartet.

Programme

Lecture: Ignaz Schuppanzigh and the Razumovsky Quartets
Nora Taksdal

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59 No. 1 — Razumovsky
Engegård Quartet