quartetto plus: Last Words - Schedule, Program & Tickets

For the fourth time, Esterházy Palace will open its doors from March 20 to March 22, 2026 for quartetto plus, one of the few international festivals for the string quartet format, which is often described by connoisseurs as the supreme discipline of classical music-making. At the original venue of Joseph Haydn's work - which laid the foundations of the genre as we know it today - international quartets, including Opus13, the winners of the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, the Isidore String Quartet and many more, will present works from different eras. Works from different eras.

Capella Paulana

Dominik Hellsberg, violin
Georg Wimmer, violin
Robert Bauerstatter, viola
Benedikt Hellsberg, violoncello
Vienna Chamber Choir
Michael Grohotolsky, conductor

Joseph Haydn: The seven last words of our Savior on the cross, Hob. XX:2
For an Andalusian Good Friday liturgy, Joseph Haydn created one of his boldest, most peculiar and grandest works: "The Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross". The performance during Lent as part of classic.Esterhazy has already become a tradition in recent years. While the pure string quartet version has always been on the program, it is now enriched for the first time with the vocal parts for soloists and choir, which Haydn himself added during a later revision. This transforms the composition from wordless meditation music into a gripping oratorio in which the chamber music forces of the Capella Paulana unite with the Vienna Chamber Choir and selected solo voices.

Subject to change without notice.