What significance does playing in the quartet have for you?
Thomas Zehetmair: Each quartet member is active in ways going far beyond the work of the ensemble: as concert soloist, teacher and conductor. The preparation for our annual tour with the Quartet always means a very intensive phase of musical work. We always learn the pieces that we rehearse by heart. This enables us to gain a particularly deep insight into the details of the music, which also has a positive effect on our continued work.
According to which criteria are your programmes put together?
TZ: The string quartet repertoire is so incredibly rich and varied that it is naturally difficult to make a choice. We make sure that we always include works of contemporary composers, or at least works of the 20th century, on the programme alongside the classical works. Just a few weeks ago, for example, we gave the world premiere of Heinz Holliger's new work "Increschantüm" for soprano and string quartet. Quartets of Debussy, Bartók and Karl Amadeus Hartmann also belong to our repertoire…
Ruth Killius: ... and of course of Paul Hindemith!
What relationship do you have to him?
RK: I already began playing the viola as a small child. I was once given a recording of works for viola by Hindemith, including the Solo Sonata, Op. 25 No. 1 and the wonderful Trio for heckelphone, viola and piano, Op. 47. That record made an incredibly strong impression on me, and I knew from that time onwards that I couldn't live without the music of Hindemith. Without this stimulus, perhaps I wouldn't have decided to become a musician at all. For this reason, too, it was so important that we, as a quartet, also include Hindemith in our repertoire.
TZ: Being a violinist, Hindemith was at first not quite as close to me as to Ruth. But I also became acquainted with works of his early on, and learned to appreciate them, for example the Solo Sonata, Op. 31 No. 2 with the variation movement on "Komm, lieber Mai", the Second String Quartet, Op. 10 of 1918 and the Kammermusik No. 4 (the so-called Violin Concerto). I really became involved in his music when we rehearsed the Fourth Quartet, Op. 22 several years ago. You can hardly imagine what originality is contained in the second and third movements of that quartet, for example. As a whole, Hindemith left behind a highly varied œuvre that is exciting and worthwhile for the musician in every respect.
After the Quartet, Op. 22 you are now working on the Fifth Quartet, Op. 32, with which you are touring during the coming season. What fascinates you about Hindemith's quartets?
RK: What is especially impressive is that they so unbelievably well written, they lie wonderfully "under the fingers". Hindemith's own comprehensive experience as a practical musician can be readily seen here, of course. Both quartets, after all, were written for "his own" Amar Quartet in which he played the viola. It is really a pity that so few string ensembles take up these works nowadays. It is certainly not because of their quality.
How does the public react to Hindemith's quartets?
RK: We always get a lot of encouragement; people are usually quite flabbergasted at how much they like the music. We like to play the second movement of Op. 22 without announcing beforehand that it is by Hindemith. There is always a big surprise when we solve the riddle.
You have been a regular guest at the Hindemith Institute for years and have studied autograph materials here. In what way do you make use of this source study in your music-making?
RK: Our first visit to the then Institute's former director, Giselher Schubert, already opened up our eyes to what a treasure the Hindemith Institute contains, with its wide variety of documents and with the well-founded knowledge of its staff. As practical musicians, we are especially happy when we are supported and motivated in such a way. These are the stimuli that are so important for our work. The intensive study of the material opens up new perspectives onto the works; personal discussions with the musicologists give us valuable input, allowing us to discover ever new aspects of the multi-faceted artistic personality of Paul Hindemith.
TZ: Here's a specific example: there are metronome markings in the edition of the Quartet, Op. 22 with which we have worked. At the Institute, however, we were able to listen to recordings of the piece from the 1920s with the Amar Quartet. They show that Hindemith chose much faster tempi at that time. The piece has a much more ponderous and stolid effect in a slower tempo. I am not sure whether we would be playing that quartet the way we do now without the information that we obtained at the Institute. We are very grateful for such insights and allow them to flow into our interpretations.