Pianist Elisso Wirssaladze was led into Belgium through the gates of the Handelsbeurs. This season we present the Flemish debut of a string quartet. The Quatuor Terpsycordes was founded in 1997 by four musicians who studied at the Geneva Conservatory. In 2001 they were awarded the Premier Prix de Virtuosité. First violinist Girolamo Bottiglieri could call himself the best violinist in Italy in 1998. It is tempting for young string quartets to either tackle the current repertoire or to focus on completely unknown work. In 2004, the Quatuor Terpsycordes opted for the golden mean and recorded its first CD with lesser-known work by a heavyweight among composers: Robert Schumann. With this convincing recording, the young quartet proved that Schumann is also invaluable as a quartet composer. They perform the third string quartet from that CD, in addition to work by Mendelssohn and one of Mozart's indestructible Haydn quartets.
