In 1998 the violinists Stefan and Gundula Kirpal, Alba González i Becerra on the viola and Stephen Ristau on the cello came together to form the Diogenes Quartet. The four now belong to the most renowned German string quartets. Not least because their repertoire ranges from classical to romantic to contemporary. In December, for example, they performed George Crumb’s modern cult work “Black Angels” at the First String Quartet Biennale in the Pinakothek der Moderne.
Now they dare to tackle a special crossover project in the Künstlerhaus: “Bei Brahms Goes Jazz!” they meet with their longtime chamber music partner Andreas Kirpal at the piano on the quartet of the jazz violinist Max Grosch. Classic allusions to well-known works by Brahms provide the basis for improvisation before returning to the original form. The best of both musical worlds should be combined.
Brahms goes Jazz!, Sunday, May 7th, 6 p.m., Künstlerhaus, Lenbachplatz 8, www.kuenstlerhaus-muc.de