Barnabás Kelemen, violinist and leader of The Kelemen Quartet, shared with D Kaushik his experience of performing in crowded streets of Mumbai
Over the years many string quartets have performed in India to the packed house in various auditoriums. But rarely you would find this group of four (quartet) — two violinists, a violist and a cellist — performing at the busy streets, with people watching in awe and amazement. The Kelemen Quartet, founded in Budapest in 2010, was in India recently and before their performance in Delhi at the India International Center, they were in Mumbai and Pune. Barnabás Kelemen, leader of the quartet and violinist told us that while they were in Mumbai they performed at the crowded streets and to washerwomen, who were absolutely delighted to listen to the music. “The purpose was to give away a message that it is not important to understand the grammar of music to enjoy it. Music should reach out to the soul and it can come from any part of the world. It was absolutely fantastic to find the audience on the streets and make them part of our music,” he shared post their performance at IIC. Their concert was organised by The Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre, the Delhi Music Society in cooperation with the India International Centre.
The string quartet is one of the most prominent chamber ensembles in classical music, with most major composers, from the late 18th century onwards, writing string quartets. Kelemen told us that he brought to India some of their famous compositions “but we didn’t want to limit the music so it was a good variety that people loved.” Other members of the quartet are Gabor Homoki, Katalin Kokas and Dora Kokas. All four of the Kelemen Quartet’s members are prize-winning Hungarian musicians, admired as soloists and as chamber players, and close-knit both professionally and personally. In less time, the group has gained a reputation as one of the most exciting young string quartets. The ensemble’s international acclaim was enhanced in July 2011 when they received three prizes at the sixth Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition: the overall second prize, the audience prize and the Musica Viva Grand Prize, which resulted in an Australian tour in spring 2014. The Kelemen Quartet also received the first prize ex aequo at the Beijing International Music Competition in 2011 and at the International Sándor Végh String Quartet Competition in Budapest in 2012. “We are thankful to our audience across the globe for this acclaim and recognition. People can connect with our music easily and I think that has helped us reach the hearts of our audience. Our goal is to make live performances popular again. live concerts were once a part of everyday life and that is how it should be. There are string quartets and some interesting compositions, but most of them are only recorded in the CDs. You cannot experience the music in its recorded version, we are trying to make people understand that music is to be experienced live. No matter what music it is, in what language it is, listening it should be an experience worth memorising,” said Barnabás.
The violinist shared that he had an opportunity to listen to music by Zakir Husain and Sivamani. He now is open to collaborate with Indian pianist and come up with something unique. “Indian instruments are magical and we would be happy to collaborate with them,” he ended.