For fans of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig Van Beethoven and Franz Schubert, there’s a treat coming up this weekend. From March 11 to 13, the Arties Festival, a great showcase of chamber music returns to the NCPA Experimental Theatre in its 17th edition.
Unlike symphonies and concertos, chamber music has its own charm, and requires different skill sets. While the first two forms involve a large number of musicians, this particular style may have four or five instrumentalists. Because of the intimate nature of playing, it has been called the ‘music of friends’. The great German poet Goethe described it as ‘four rational people conversing’.
Chamber music is said to have originated with the ‘ sonata de camera ’ (chamber sonata) and the ‘ sonata de chiesa ’ (church sonata). These were compositions of one to five instruments. In the baroque era of the early 18th century, they evolved into the trio sonata, with Johann Sebastian Bach creating many memorable compositions. Yet, chamber music wasn’t defined as a genre then.
The chamber orchestra as one knows it today is credited to the 18th century composer Joseph Haydn. The most prolific composer ever, he created 83 string quartets, 45 piano trios and many other small ensemble pieces. Besides being known as the Father of the String Quartet, he was also known as the Father of the Symphony, having created 106 of them.
Haydn will not be featured at the Arties Festival this year, but there will be plenty of Mozart, who actually gave the chamber orchestra a new vocabulary. Mozart’s string quartets are considered the pinnacle of the classical art. In fact, Haydn told Mozart’s father Leopold, “I tell you before God as an honest man that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by reputation. He has taste, and, what is more, the most profound knowledge of composition.”
The event will have six musicians playing different combinations. Violinists Hugues Borsarello and Laurent Manaud Pallas, viola players Arnaud Thorette and Mathieu Herzog, cellist Gauthier Herrmann and pianist Emmanuel Christien will play a diverse set.
The programme includes well-known pieces like Mozart’s ‘Hoffmeister’ string quartet, his ‘Piano Quartet K493’. Schubert's ‘Death and the Maiden’, Beethoven’s ‘String Quartet No 6’ and a selection of compositions by 20th century composer Friedrich Kriesler.
The Arties Festival has an interesting history. Cellist Herrmann, who is also the festival’s artistic director, recalls how he came for a single recital in Pune in 2001 when he was just 20. He says: “During this first trip, I completely felt in love with the country, the people, the food and the warm attitude of the audience... When I came back to France, I had only one idea in my head: coming back for a bigger tour and visiting the entire country.”
Herrmann met many Indians who were deeply passionate and knowledgeable about western classical music. Thus, he came up with the idea of getting European musicians in small ensembles. Following the success of his India events, he took the festival to China, Indonesia, Switzerland, France and the Middle East.
Inaugurated in 2008, the Arties festival is held at the NCPA every March and November. According to the NCPA newsletter, “The musicians have three things in common: they all compare with the finest in Europe, they are all ready to play for a good cause and they have an uncompromising love for India.” Obviously, one expects three days of pure classical magic.
The author is a freelance music writer
