CHAOS STRING QUARTET – 23rd May 2024, Sala dei Giganti, 8.15 p.m., Padova (Italy)
The concert by CHAOS STRING QUARTET, which took place in Padova (Italy) on 23rd May 2024, was much more than a concert. It was one of those not-so-frequent events, when different artistic forms merge to appeal to people’s sight, mind and emotions at the same time.
Let’s start with the venue, the amazing Hall of the Giants, dating back to the Middle Ages. It was renovated in the 16th century when its long walls were, and still are, covered in frescoes with giant figures representing kings, emperors and distinguished men of letters from the age of the Roman Republic. It is a real pleasure for the eyes, as you can let your gaze linger on the giants surrounding you, while sitting and listening to music.
The concert was introduced by a short speech on the effects of playing musical instruments on our cognitive skills. Professor Massimo Grassi from the Department of Psychology at the University of Padova and expert in Psychology of Music reported on the international research on this topic, which is being carried out all over the world, and it is still in progress.
Then the music began. The first piece of music played by CHAOS STRING QUARTET was Les élemens: Le Chaos (1737) by Jean-Fèry Rebel, and it was immediately clear that the four young musicians possess great energy and unity of sound and that they were going to give the audience a performance of very high level.
The second piece to be played was the Lyric Suite by Alban Berg. It is known that this composition has a “secret dedication” and “a secret programme”, related to the love story between Alban Berg and his “secret” lover Hanna Fuchs-Robettin.
The actor Marco Duse narrated this interesting story by reading a text combining excerpts from Alban Berg’s letters to Hanna (this engaging text was written by Filippo Juvarra, artistic director of Amici della Musica di Padova). Marco Duse’s brilliant narrating skills greatly helped to involve people in this complex and intense piece of music, which was then masterfully played by CHAOS STRING QUARTET. The quartet revealed all their amazing musical skills and managed to capture people’s attention. The performance was greatly appreciated and the audience showed their enthusiasm at the end by clapping and demanding an encore.
There were more than 120 people in the audience and many were young people and students from the university, as the concert was also included in a festival organized by the Department of Linguistic and Literary Studies together with the Department of Psychology. The presence of young people is an aspect to be proud of, as they are often difficult to involve in chamber music concerts, especially when the program is not an “easy” one.