Description
Transcriptions for string quartet by the composer or someone else was common practice in Mozarts time. In that light this string-version of Mozart's Requiem is nothing special. What makes it special, is the circumstance of the original Requiem itself. It is known that Mozart left the majority of the work incompleted, and that on request of Mozart's widow, his pupil Süssmayer did the finishing job. Where one's work ends and the other's starts, no-one knows. This 'skeleton-version' of the Requiem, however, fully preserves the eloquence of Mozart's music and therefore perhaps proves that the
Requiem contains more of the masters own composing than we can objectively establish. But incomplete as the Requiem is, Mozart's universal genius radiates through the notes in any version. And if anyone can bring the radiation to the surface in this version, no one better than the Kuijken Quartet.
Comprising Sigiswald Kuijken and François Fernandez (violins), Marleen Thiers (viola) and Wieland Kuijken (cello), the Kuijken String Quartet was founded in 1986. The ensemble focuses on the string quartets of Haydn and Mozart. The players all enjoy many years of international renown for their important contribution to a more authentic and historically grounded approach to playing string instruments, having appeared both as soloists and in other ensembles. Since 1986 the Kuijken String Quartet has appeared in almost all European countries, as well as in Australia, the United States and Japan.