‘THE EMPFINDSAMER SALON’
Quartet: Flute, Violin/Viola, Cello, Fortepiano
Each work on this program serves as an example of a changing style throughout the 18th century, one which exhibits a conscious deviation from standard, baroque norms in terms of musical composition. The unpredictability of the form, the deep emotional content and the ever-increasing number of musical surprises in these works are what bind them together into a style we dub Empfindsamkeit. A term used frequently during the 18th century to describe physiological sensations of nervous emotional (dis)content, Empfindsamer individuals were rather “taken away” with their experience of the world. It’s our job as those on stage to introduce to you this chaotic emotional landscape, all the while not giving away the surprises too soon!
Link to the Quartet Program (English)
THE PRIMARY SOURCES 