Alma Sola Cello Quartet

The four cellists of the Alma Sola Cello Quartet met at the Rotterdam Conservatory during lessons with their common teacher Herre-Jan Stegenga. At the Conservatory, their curiosity was also aroused to work together as a quartet.

It is not usual to play the same instrument in a quartet; this makes it a demanding but at the same time fruitful process. It gave the four cellists of the quartet a chance to experiment with the possibilities within the different registers of their instrument, each of them finding their own role in the quartet.

The program begins with the suggestive sound of 'España', composed by cellist

Richard Klemm . The next piece is the 'Suite for 4 cellos' by the Hungarian composer Emánuel Moór . This suite is a challenging work, with four movements in different moods, from energetic and rhythmic to introspective and intimate.

In John Dowland's 'In Darkness Let Me Dwell' you hear the darkness and brightness of the Baroque. The narrative 'Jugend album', an arrangement of the original piano work by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , shows descriptive pieces from daily life. The concert ends with an exciting 'Konzertwalzer', written by the German cellist Wilhelm Fitzenhagen .

Program:

Richard Klemm (1902-1988)

Spain for 4 Cellos

Emanuel Moor (1863-1913)

Suite for 4 violoncelles Op. 95

Andante sostenuto

Molto allegro

Adagio

Allegro con brio

John Dowland (1563-1626)

In Darkness let me Dwell (1610) Arr. J. Barralet

PI Tchaikovsky (1849-1893)

Youth Album Op. 39 (1878) Arr. Gunter Ribke

Wilhelm Fitzenhagen (1848-1890)

Concert Waltz Op. 31

Occupation:

Alessandro Fornero (Italy) - cello

Carlos Maldonado Carnicer (Spain) - cello

Laura González Badenes (Spain) – cello

Ana Maria Mikus (Portugal) - cello