Variations
| 1. | Introduction | 00:00:46 |
| 2. | Grieg: Sonata in A minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 36 | 00:28:37 |
| 3. | Bartók: Quartet No. 2 for Strings, BB 75, Op. 17 | 00:29:06 |
PROGRAM
|
Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) |
Sonata in A minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 36 (1882) Jakob Koranyi, Cello; Juho Pohjonen, Piano |
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Béla Bartók (1881–1945) |
Quartet No. 2 for Strings, BB 75, Op. 17 (1917) Schumann Quartet (Erik Schumann, Violin I; Ken Schumann, Violin II; Liisa Randalu, Viola; Mark Schumann, Cello) |
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Juho Pohjonen
The Schumann Quartett
Pianist Juho Pohjonen is in demand internationally as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, and chamber performer. An ardent exponent of Scandinavian music, he has a growing discography offering music by Finnish compatriots such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kaija Saariaho, and Jean Sibelius. Recent engagements include the Taiwan, BBC, and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras; the Cleveland and Minnesota orchestras; and the symphonies of San Francisco, Atlanta, New Jersey, and Colorado. Pohjonen is an alum of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Bowers Program and enjoys an ongoing relationship with the organization. Pohjonen earned a master’s degree from Meri Louhos and Hui-Ying Liu-Tawaststjerna at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He was selected by Sir András Schiff as the winner of the 2009 Klavier Festival Ruhr Scholarship. In 2019, Pohjonen launched MyPianist, an AI-based app that provides interactive piano accompaniment.
The Schumann Quartett has been acclaimed as “personal and profound” (BBC Music Magazine) and “one of the most exciting string quartets of the present day” (Fono Forum). Highlights of the 2026–2027 season include appearances in renowned venues such as Wigmore Hall London, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Musikverein Vienna, Bozar Brussels, and the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. The quartet will also perform at the Tsinandali Festival with Lisa Batiashvili, the Cartagena Music Festival in Colombia, and the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival in Warsaw. Their US tour in fall 2026 includes performances with CMS and at Stude Concert Hall in Houston, Texas, among others. Upcoming collaborators include artists such as Andreas Ottensamer, Kit Armstrong, Anna-Lucia Richter, Sabine Meyer, Katharina Konradi, Sharon Kam, and Alexey Stadler.
The quartet’s third album, Intermezzo (2018), featuring works by Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, and Aribert Reimann—and recorded in collaboration with soprano Anna-Lucia Richter—was praised nationally and internationally, and received the 2019 Opus Klassik Award in the category of Chamber Music Recording. In 2020, the ensemble expanded its discography with Fragment, a powerful exploration of the work of one of the great masters of the string quartet: Franz Schubert. To mark the 100th anniversary of radio broadcasting, the quartet undertook a unique project: in autumn 2023, they released an album entirely dedicated to the music of the year 1923. Created in collaboration with Bayerischer Rundfunk, the much-praised recording features works by Alban Berg, Leoš Janáček, Paul Hindemith, and Aaron Copland.
The three brothers, Mark, Erik and Ken Schumann, have been playing together since early childhood. They are joined by violist Matthew McDowell, who completes the quartet. The quartet’s formative influences include teachers such as Eberhard Feltz and the Alban Berg Quartet, and partners such as Menahem Pressler. From 2016 to 2019, the quartet took part in CMS’s Bowers Program.
Erik Schumann plays a violin by Domenico Montagnana, Venice, c. 1733, generously on loan from a private collection. Ken Schumann plays an Italian violin from the mid-18th century, kindly made available to him privately. Matthew McDowell’s viola was made for him by Frédéric Chaudière in 2025. Mark Schumann plays a cello by Giovanni and Francesco Grancino from 1680, generously loaned to him by Merito String Instruments Trust, Vienna.