77TH SEASON OF

CONCERTS

national gallery of art | march 31, 2019
2 3

Fauré Quartett

Erika Geldsetzer, violin 

Sascha Frömbling, viola 

Konstantin Heidrich, cello 

Dirk Mommertz, piano

March 31, 2019 | 3:30

West Building, West Garden Court

Gustav Mahler (1860 – 1911)

Quartettsatz in A Major (c. 1876)

Nicht zu schnell

Frank Bridge (1879 – 1941)

“Phantasy” Piano Quartet in F-Sharp Minor, H. 94 (1910)

Andante con moto 

Allegro vivace 

Andante con moto

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943)

From 9 Études-tableaux, op. 39 (1916 – 1917)

Arr. Dirk Mommertz

Etude no. 6 in A Minor, “Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf”

Etude no. 2 in A Minor, “The Sea and the Seagulls” 

Intermission

Gabriel Fauré (1845 – 1924)

Piano Quartet in G Minor, op. 45, no. 2 (1885 – 1886)

Allegro molto moderato

Allegro molto

Adagio non troppo

Allegro molto

PROGRAM THE ENSEMBLE

“The Faure Quartet is right up there with the best ensembles you can listen to today.” 

Harald Eggebrecht, Süddeutsche Zeitung

The requirements have changed. Whoever is playing chamber music today cannot be 

limited to the rules from decades ago. The expectations regarding the diversity of 

repertoire have changed, creating room for ensembles like the Fauré Quartett, which 

has established itself as one of the world’s leading piano quartets. The Fauré Quartett 

discovers new sound fields in chamber music and performs compositions outside the 

mainstream repertoire.

The quartet’s musicians are visionary in their approach and highly regarded for 

their experiments and discoveries, whether in performances with the NDR Bigband, 

collaborations with artists like Rufus Wainwright or Sven Helbig, or appearances in 

such clubs as New York’s (Le) Poisson Rouge or Germany’s Berghain and Cocoon clubs, 

on public television (Germany’s KiKA), or in schools (the Rhapsody in School project). 

When the ensemble released its album Popsongs in 2009, there was a great deal of 

buzz in the press and a strong audience response. The following year, the quartet 

received the ECHO Classic Award for its album Classic beyond Borders, which was 

their second award after their recording of Brahms’s piano quartets (Chamber Music 

Recording of the Year, 2008). Fauré Quartett’s other prizes include the German Music 

Competition, the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s Ensemble Prize, the Duisburg 

Music Prize, and the Brahms Prize from the Brahms Society of Schleswig Holstein.

The musicians of the Fauré Quartett are pioneers in many ways. In 1995, as students 

in Karlsruhe, they met at the 150th anniversary of Gabriel Fauré’s birth and quickly 

realized that their combination offered new insights into undiscovered repertoire. In 

2006, they signed a contract with Deutsche Grammophon, promoting their work to 

the “champions league” of classical music. The group made highly regarded, benchmark recordings with works by Mozart, Brahms, and Mendelssohn, and the pop songs 

of Peter Gabriel and Steely Dan. Worldwide tours and master classes have spread the 

ensemble’s reputation abroad. The group has performed in the world’s most important 

chamber music venues, the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Alte 

Oper in Frankfurt, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and Wigmore Hall in London. The 

musicians also teach at the Free University of Berlin and the University of DuisburgEssen. They are the quartet-in-residence at the University of Music Karlsruhe, as well 

as artistic directors of Festspielfrühling Rügen. All these mosaic pieces form a unique 

profile for this defining chamber music ensemble.
Upcoming Events of the SeventySeventh Season of The William Nelson 

Cromwell and F. Lammot Belin Concerts

Unless otherwise noted, concerts 

are held in the West Building, West 

Garden Court.

Haimovitz-Iyer Duo

Cellist Matt Haimovitz collaborates with 

pianist and composer Vijay Iyer.

April 7, 3:30

East Coast Chamber Orchestra

An Ancient Walkabout

Featuring works by Bach, Purcell, 

and Britten 

April 14, 3:30

Living Art Collective Ensemble (LACE)

Elisa Monte Dance

DJ Twelve45

The Lunar Effect

Celebrating By the Light of the Silvery 

Moon: A Century of Lunar Photographs 

from the 1850s to Apollo 11

Music by Louise Farrenc, Clara 

Schumann, and Pauline Viardot 

April 21, 3:30

Duo Sonidos

Sound Sketches

April 26, 12:10

West Building Lecture Hall

General Information

Admission to the National Gallery of Art 

and all of its programs is free of charge, 

except as noted.

The use of cameras or recording 

equipment during the performance 

is not allowed.

Please be sure that all portable electronic 

devices are turned off.

—

Concerts are made possible in part 

through the generosity of donors to the 

National Gallery of Art through The Circle. 

Reserved seating is available in recognition 

of their support. Please contact the 

development office at (202) 842-6450 or 

circle@nga.gov for more information.

—

The department of music produced 

these program notes. Copyright © 2019 

Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, 

Washington

Cover Joseph Rubens Powell, Spring 

(detail), National Gallery of Art, 

Washington, Gift of John Nichols 

Estabrook and Dorothy Coogan 

Estabrook

NGA.GOV/MUSIC