When you have been making music together as intensively as Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov for as long as they have, then it's time to get down to business: The two Violin Sonatas op. 105 and op. 121 were composed by Düsseldorf music director Schumann within a few days in 1851, at a time when he was in constant conflict with unmotivated musicians and singers and was slowly slipping into an existential crisis. The passionate works are accompanied by Brahms' last chamber music, the second of the two Sonatas op. 120, and by two works by Webern and Kurtág. Their concentrated miniatures form a pointed contrast to the flowing "Liberated Time" of the three large sonatas.

This concert will be followed by a talk with the artists and Anselm Cybinski in the Festivalzentrum.