String quartets from all over the world come to the International Institute of Chamber Music in Madrid to perfect their playing under the guidance of Günter Pichler, violinist of the legendary Alban Berg Quartet. In this concert, four of these ensembles will demonstrate their exceptional musical level through works by Haydn, Schubert, Schumann and Dvorák.

Franz Joseph Haydn is considered the father of the string quartet, to which he gave the form we know today. He composed more than 80 quartets and the one performed by the Barbican Quartet, his String Quartet No. 60 in G major, is one of the last and most ambitious. Haydn surprises with innovations in the tempo of the movements, incorporating popular themes and playing with minor keys beyond the conventions of his time.

Even more obscure is the next quartet: the String Quartet in D minor, D. 810 "Death and the Maiden" by Franz Schubert. Performed by the Baum Quartet, it owes its name to the theme of the first movement, which Schubert took from his lied of the same name. The exploration of the terror and consolation of death is also present in this quartet, the only one by the composer with all its movements in minor keys, through strong contrasts of mood and lyrical, tormented passages.

A great admirer of the Death and the Maiden Quartet was Robert Schumann, who however only composed three quartets during his career, the first of which is performed here by the Gyldfeldt Quartet. A product of careful study of the quartets of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, Schumann's quartets are classical in taste, but not quietly so. The String Quartet in A minor, op. 41 No. 1 starts with great intensity, revels in a joyous scherzo, continues with a fiery slow movement and culminates in a whirlwind of sonorities.