Conflict and jealousy characterized the complicated love affair between literary greats Ingeborg Bachmann and Max Frisch. The public gained a deeper insight two years ago when the spectacular correspondence between the two was published. For the Rothko String Quartet, this provided the impetus for a new concert project in which love takes center stage without any kitsch or pathos. The quartet finds musical answers to seven poignant letters by Bachmann - not least with Leoš Janáček's string quartet "Intimate Letters". The four musicians have long been known in Ludwigsburg for their original programs and with "Love Reacts Only" they are celebrating both the program premiere and their third visit to us.

[text: Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele]

"Misfortune always strikes at the point where it can count on the deepest pain," wrote Ingeborg Bachmann, and it is precisely this pain that the strings drive into the music. It stings, it is fierce, it hurts, it is full of tenderness, especially on this fulfilling evening, and it is full of life because it contains everything: sadness, hope, joy, suffering, upheaval and demolition.

[review: Susanne Benda, Stuttgarter Zeitung, June 16, 2024]