Violinist Thomas Zehetmair, whose latest Paganini recording from St. Gerold was exceptionally praised by critics last year, and violist Ruth Killius have been musical companions for many years in the Zehetmair Quartet. Following their impressive duo performance at the ECM Festival in Mannheim last autumn, expectations were high for their new program—a carefully curated collection of contemporary works for violin and viola. The centerpiece, alongside Bohuslav Martinů's virtuosic and accessible "Madrigals," composed in 1946 during his American exile, is Heinz Holliger's "Three Sketches," a three-part work in which the instruments are tuned to the scordatura of Mozart's famous "Sinfonia Concertante" for violin, viola, and orchestra. The first movement, "Pirouetten harmoniques," commissioned by the duo as an encore to their frequent performances of Mozart's masterpiece, is based entirely on shimmering harmonies, while the second movement presents a lively perpetuum mobile. The cycle concludes with a six-part chorale in which both string players must also hum a part. This idea, realized with remarkable effect by the duo, was inspired by Giacinto Scelsi's solo piece "Manto" for a "singing violist." The program is rounded out by works from Nikos Skalkottas and Béla Bartók, as well as short compositions by Rainer Killius and Johannes Nied.
