Three works in a charged triangular relationship: illness as a turning point, art as a strategy for survival, and the question of artistic identity within the structures of society.
With Fanny Hensel’s String Quartet, we turn to an outstanding voice of Romanticism, one that, compared with her brother’s, has still not received the recognition it deserves. The matter-of-course way in which, despite her enormous talent, she was pushed into the role of housewife and amateur composer stands in stark contrast to the artistic maturity of her œuvre. Her only string quartet, written in 1834, displays clarity, energy and a distinctive voice. The Merel Quartet returns to a work from one of their earlier recordings, bringing it back to the stage with undiminished relevance.
The determination to assert one’s own voice against all odds and to defend oneself against being reduced to the role of muse or appendage links Hensel with Frida Kahlo. After the bus accident of 1925, Kahlo’s life was marked by illness until the end. In The Broken Column, a new work by David Philip Hefti, her fate becomes the starting point for an exploration in sound. The piece was premiered by the Merel Quartet at the Zwischentöne Chamber Music Festival Engelberg in October 2026.
The third piece on the programme is one of Ludwig van Beethoven’s famous «Late» string quartets, his op. 132, performed as part of the season’s homage marking the 200th anniversary of his death in 2027. The “Holy Song of Thanksgiving of a Convalescent to the Deity”, written after his recovery from a serious illness, is among his most profound and personal works. Here, convalescence becomes directly audible as a musical experience.
