A goodbye and a homage. That's how you could characterize this last album by the Schönberg Quartet. On May 16, 2009 the quartet ceased to exist due to funding shortages and one of the leading string quartets in our country came to an end. This swan song is also a tribute to the Netherlands' most important living composer Louis Andriessen, who celebrated his seventieth birthday in 2009. The CD
… contains his entire oeuvre for string quartet, most of which in turn are homages to esteemed family members and befriended musicians. This also applies to the Schönberg Quartet, which asked for a commission in 2006. The title… miserere… does not only refer to the currently ailing ensemble, but at the same time full of musical autobiography and intertextuality with references to the famous Miserere by Gregorio Allegri and Andriessen's own (occasional) compositions for his sister Caecilia and Annette Morreau. In addition, Facing Death (1990), Tuin van Eros (2002) and the early Quartet in two movements from 1957 are also programmed, as well as a Stravinski adaptation of prelude BWV 869 from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier completed by Andriessen. (JWvR)more