mission statement

During the Romantic era, the string quartet evolved into the highest form of chamber music. The Quatuor Romantique is dedicated to performing the great Romantic string quartet repertoire, ranging from Mozart’s late string quartets to works from the early 20th century. We use period instruments and draw inspiration from historical performance practices specific to the Romantic style. As our approach differs significantly from modern conventions, we would like to offer some explanation. One of the most striking differences between Romantic and contemporary styles is the use of portamento. Derived from the Italian word portare, meaning “to carry, deliver, or bring,” portamento refers to the act of “carrying one note to the next.” This technique is extensively described in various works. Joseph Joachim (1831–1907), for instance, assigned much more expressive value to portamento than to vibrato in his Violinschule (published in 1905). Today, this is the complete opposite: portamento has almost vanished from 21st-century musical technique, while continuous vibrato has become the worldwide standard over the course of the 20th century. In the Romantic era, however, vibrato was not constant but used sparingly to add color to melodic or singing passages. Rhetorical or spoken passages, by contrast, were performed without vibrato. In essence, string instruments in the Romantic era were played much like we use our voices today—singing with vibrato and speaking without it. In this sense, the Romantics, through Classicism, are the direct heirs of the rhetorical art of the Baroque period. Another significant difference between the past and the present is the use of rubato. Rubato literally means “stolen,” and tempo rubato translates to “stolen time.” Playing with rubato involves a certain freedom in tempo, much like the natural rhythm of spoken language. Rubato reflects the cadence of our words—always moving, never static, yet still connected to the structure of the sentence. When an admirer once asked Mozart about the secret of his musicality, his response reportedly was, “Because I play in time.” This did not mean rigidly adhering to the beat but rather moving freely within the measure, following the natural cadence of the notes without losing the structural integrity of the musical phrase. Rubato playing was not a new phenomenon in the Romantic era; it had a long tradition. Franz Liszt beautifully described rubato as “the constant movement of the leaves on the branches of a tree.” Similarly, Arnold Schoenberg remarked in his Style and Idea (1948) how the “American” rigid and strict playing style—originating from dance music traditions—found its way into Europe, replacing the earlier rubato-driven approach inherited from the great traditions of the past. As Schoenberg lamented: “All were suddenly afraid to be called romantic, ashamed of being called sentimental. No one recognized the origin of this tendency; all tried rapidly to satisfy the market—which had become American.” Rubato playing also led to a different approach to ensemble playing. While today’s musicians primarily strive for vertical alignment, Romantic-era ensemble playing was much more horizontal. The freedom inherent in rubato made perfect vertical alignment nearly impossible. Instead, the individual parts moved freely above and below each other, much like in a conversation. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe eloquently described the string quartet as “a conversation between four intelligent individuals.” In a good conversation, lines overlap, interrupt one another, and occasionally align perfectly. This creates a varied and dynamic way of playing together, fostering communication that is not only beautiful but also exciting and challenging. Lastly, a word about the instruments. Romantic string instruments are almost identical to modern ones, except for the strings, which were made of gut. It was only after 1945 that steel and synthetic strings began to replace gut strings. Though seemingly a small difference, it has profound implications for the musical message. With their less polished yet rawer tone—so akin to the human voice—gut strings are particularly well-suited to rhetorical playing, dialogue, and communication. This makes gut strings a perfect match for the Romantic string quartet, where rhetoric and melodic lyricism intertwine. Quatuor Romantique performs the great Romantic string quartet repertoire using historically informed practices and period instruments. This is not done to reconstruct a bygone era but rather to reveal the musical message hidden within the notes. These instruments and techniques serve as keys to unlocking the musical text—scores filled with stories from a distant past but addressing universal themes: hope and despair, longing, loss, love, hate, and so much more. Music by the people of then, for and by the people of now.