[Chamber Music] String Quartets for Two Cellos

Brussels Muzieque invites you to a musical evening out of the usual canon. 

This concert features chamber music’s most canonic formation, the string quartet, in the highly unconventional setting of violin, viola and… two cellos!

Let yourself be surprised by string quartet No.2 in A minor by Anton Arenski in this unusual instrumentation. It gives the quartet a special emphasis around the mid and low frequencies, that dark but warm timbre reminiscent of Franz Schubert 's string quintet for two cellos. 

Adding to this concert’s unique repertoire, Belgian composer and Brussels Muzieque’s composer-in-residence Walter Hus has contributed another rare composition for this peculiar ensemble: an adaptation of his string quartet “Five to Five”, where one of the two cellos performs in place of the original viola. 

To finish off the programme, Maurice Ravel’s sonata for violin and cello makes the cello the protagonist once again, bringing out its warm and dark sound. Ravel is a master at making the cello shine, however, in this duo, the two instruments are truly equal partners, each retaining an independent and equally important melodic line.