It is certainly unusual, although not unprecedented, for German lieder to be performed with a string quartet rather than piano.

The approach rendered spectacularly by the Australian Haydn Ensemble playing in string quartet formation and baritone David Greco relied on tonal colour from the strings, and inventive dynamics and tempo variations to convey the drama normally expected from the piano.

By the concert’s conclusion, anyone doubting the wisdom of this partnership had been vanquished.

David Greco and Australian Haydn Ensemble perform Schubert Lieder, CIMF 2025. Photo © Peter Hislop.

Franz Schubert was, alongside Robert Schumann, surely the master of the German art song form, and this concert program interspersed string quartet pieces from Schubert contemporary Felix Mendelssohn between the lieder. Mendelssohn was similarly moved by themes of love, nature, regret, longing and nostalgia, so the combination worked elegantly.

Lieder performed by solo singer and piano is a special partnership, where both musicians are equally critical, and where constant eye contact, and the shaping of expression to each other’s mood and the demands of the music becomes symbiotic. When the singer is...