ENSEMBLE
The Pleyel Quartett Köln, founded in 2004, performs on period instruments. The musicians have known each other much longer and work together in leading positions in orchestras like "La Stagione Frankfurt" or "Concerto con Anima". They have also performed together in various chamber music ensembles such as "Camerata Köln". Sharing these experiences led to the wish to work on the large string quartet repertoire. The intention of the four is to rediscover lost treasures such as Pleyel's own quartets and to place them in context with more famous works of the time. The musicians are inspired by musical journeys together, getting involved with each new piece, finding a joy in the discovery of its unique character and the means of bringing it to life.
Photo: Colin Joy, Köln
Nicholas Selo · Ingeborg Scheerer · Andreas Gerhardus · Milena Schuster
The name itself testifies to the quartet's wish to revive the unrecognized, the unheard of, the forgotten:
Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831) was one of the most popular composers of his time, when he was just as well known as Haydn and Mozart and to contemporary tastes arguably even more popular than they were. During his lifetime Pleyel's works were issued in some two thousand editions by about two hundred and fifty publishers across fifty cities in Europe and North America. Catalogues listing the works on offer during the years 1787 to 1792 by the publisher F.E. Leuckart shows Pleyel numerically in the lead over other composers with a total of 481 compositions with Haydn featuring 134 and Mozart 83 publications. Today Pleyel is mostly remembered for his pieces for violin beginners and some may also know that one of the Paris' most famous concert halls of the world is called "Salle Pleyel" named after the composer, publisher, piano manufacturer and social entrepreneur.