The Alma Quartet consists of four string players from the Concertgebouw Orchestra. They enjoy discovering lesser-known repertoire and also perform with famous DJs. The LPs and CDs they release are warmly received by audiences and critics alike. For this May 4 concert, they’ve invited the young cellist Ella van Poucke to join them in exploring one of the most famous classical masterpieces, the String Quintet by Schubert, which he wrote toward the end of his life.

Michael Gieler, artistic director of IJ-Salon: ‘What kind of music is fitting for a day like May 4? Of course, many pieces lend themselves to contemplation or have death as their theme. But none of those pieces can compare to Franz Schubert’s final chamber music work. The expansive Adagio is perhaps the most beautiful and saddest work ever written. That is why it must be performed here today.’

Beautiful music was composed by a strange, socially awkward man—a lonely outsider in a world that didn’t understand him: Franz Schubert. This classical piece is viewed through the lens of Planet AiRich, a brilliant young woman and a leading figure in Afrofuturism in the Netherlands.

Michael Gieler, artistic director of Music Stages: ‘Nowadays, everyone loves Schubert. It’s difficult to imagine that this genius was largely misunderstood during his much too short life, only just being propped up by friends who truly believed in him. Art is unpredictable. That's why we cherish the past in our programmes whilst continuing to invest in the music of the future.'