Preface
Stefan George described the feeling of air from another planet in his poem
Entrückung. Arnold Schoenberg set these verses to music in the last movement
of his Second String Quartet, Op. 10. Because of Schoenberg's extraordinary music,
George's words have since been used many times to characterise the development
of new music written after Schoenberg's Opus 10. For the last twenty-five years,
the Schoenberg Quartet has seen to it that fresh "air from another planet"
regularly blows through the concert hall.
Up until now, the quartet has not celebrated its anniversaries. This is fitting,
since the Schoenberg Quartet sees each concert as a commemorative celebration.
This season, however, they are pulling out all the stops. The festivities commemorate
this dedicated group's long and uninterrupted status as one of the cultural gems
of Dutch musical life. Both in the Netherlands and abroad, the Schoenberg Quartet
offers music-lovers interested in nineteenth- and twentieth-century chamber music
the most beautiful concerts of the highest artistic quality.
One can rightly say that the Schoenberg Quartet has made its unique repertoire
more accessible for a broad audience, as has been impressively documented in the
anniversary book and on the internet. The Schoenberg Quartet is very grateful
to all who have made its existence possible by means of a financial contribution.
It wishes, in particular, to thank the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science
for its support. The quartet also wishes to thank its faithful public, the Friends
of the Schoenberg Quartet and the programmers who, time and again, have so graciously
allowed the quartet the opportunity to perform its repertoire.
In addition to the publication of the anniversary book and website, the quartet's
celebration of this anniversary season will be underscored by a special series
of concerts. Furthermore, a set of nine CDs will be put out on the British label
Chandos, entitled 25th Anniversary Edition and comprising recordings of the complete
works for strings by Schoenberg, Webern, Berg and Zemlinsky.
On behalf of the board of the Schoenberg Quartet Foundation, I hereby congratulate
Janneke van der Meer, Wim de Jong, Henk Guittart and Viola de Hoog on this most
honourable anniversary. It is my sincere hope that they will continue in good
health to make music for many concert seasons to come and I am convinced that
I also speak for the many concert-goers who enjoy their performances.
Jan Wolter Wabeke
Chair, Schoenberg Quartet Foundation
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