Death and the Maiden: the new album by Kuss Quartet
The Kuss Quartet, known for their sophisticated musical programmes, well-thought-out concept albums, and exciting connections between past and present, have just released a brand-new album. The starting point is Schubert’s string quartet “Death and the Maiden”. Exploring themes such as mortality and fate, the string quartet can be seen as a metaphor for the struggle for personal autonomy – a struggle that is more relevant today than ever. It addresses the tension between external control and individual agency, with death representing external forces threatening the maiden’s choices and the silencing of that voice.
The German-Dutch composer Iris ter Schiphorst also takes up Matthias Claudius’ text in her 2021 work “Sei gutes Muts” for the Kuss Quartet and the recorder player Maurice Steger. Also the Kuss Quartet connects the moving studies by Mark Andre in silence to Schubert’s string quartet and consistently continues the impending silence in Andre’s work.
Anyone who has ever experienced the Kuss Quartet knows that their programmes – whether live or recorded – reach the core of the music. The quartet’s goal is to give listeners new experiences. Jana Kuss, Oliver Wille, William Coleman and Mikayel Hakhnazaryan never perform at surface-level. Whether they play classical, romantic, or contemporary repertoire, they are shaped by the desire to go deeper and express the very essence of the music.
Oliver Wille say about the recording: “For us, the album is a compelling sequel to the albums ‘Berlin.Freizeit’ from the Covid-period, and ‘Krise’ (Crisis) about the looming catastrophes of our time. We must react to Schubert’s outcry, Ter Schiphorst’s refugee drama and Mark Andre’s fragile silence and disappearance of the world with our art. ‘Sei gutes Muts!’ Have courage!”
