performed by the Hagen Quartet (cover image by Ehud Neuhaus) Before God, and as an honest man, I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name. He has taste, and, … Continue reading Mozart String Quartet no. 14 in G, K. 387
performed by the Taneyev Quartet (cover image by Frederic Koberl) Vadim Nikolayevich Salmanov was born on November 4, 1912 in Saint Petersburg. His musical education began with piano lessons from his father, and was preparing to enter the Leningrad Conservatory … Continue reading Vadim Salmanov: String Quartet no. 1
performed by the Stenhammar Quartet, or below by the Glazunov Quartet (cover image by Johannes Plenio) At the beginning one does not expect much from this piece completed under the tutelage of Nikolay Myaskovsky on November 20, 1928; a study piece and … Continue reading Dmitry Kabalevsky: String Quartet no. 1 in Am, op. 8
performed by the Goldner String Quartet, or below by the Alban Berg Quartet (cover image by David von Diemar) One of Stravinsky’s few efforts in the string quartet form, the Three Pieces dates from 1914, right after Petrushka and The Rite of Spring. … Continue reading Stravinsky: Three Pieces for String Quartet
performed by the LaSalle Quartet, or below by the Amadeus Quartet (cover image by Tina Rolf) On the theme of Brahms delaying the composition of works in the more revered forms, we have his first string quartet, which came after … Continue reading Brahms String Quartet no. 1 in Cm, op. 51 no. 1
performed by the Amadeus Quartet, or below by the Festetics Quartet (cover image by David von Diemar) Mozart’s 13th string quartet is the last of his set of six ‘Viennese quartets,’ and the only one in a minor key. In … Continue reading Mozart String Quartet no. 13 in Dm, K. 173
performed by the Meta4 Quartet (cover image by Aaron Burden) We welcome Erkki Melartin back to the blog, after around a year since the Finnish symphony series, but finally with his first quartet. There’s (perhaps unsurprisingly) precious little information available … Continue reading Melartin String Quartet no. 1 in Em, op. 36 no. 1
performed by the Amadeus Quartet, or below by the Festetics Quartet (cover image by Neven Krcmarek) As discussed yesterday, Mozart’s ‘Viennese’ quartets were his second set of six (grouped together as suggested by his father), after the ‘Milanese’ quartets. Todays’ … Continue reading Mozart String Quartet no. 12 in B flat, K. 172
performed by the Amadeus Quartet, or below by the Festetics Quartet (cover image by Mitch Lensink) Mozart’s eleventh string quartet is the fourth in his second series of six string quartets, which came to be known as the ‘Viennese’ quartets. … Continue reading Mozart String Quartet no. 11 in E flat, K. 171
performed by Delmé Quartet, available on iTunes or from Hyperion (cover image by Paul Morris) Robert Simpson’s fifth string quartet dates from 1974 and is the second of the three quartets (4-6) that make up a small set of quartets … Continue reading Simpson String Quartet no. 5
performed by the Delmé Quartet, available digitally basically nowhere but the iTunes store or Hyperion (cover image by Serge Kutuzov) Ah, Robert Simpson, the real inspiration behind the Editor’s Choice series, and someone I discovered just by digging through forums … Continue reading Simpson String Quartet no. 4
performed by the Kronos Quartet, or below by the Quatuor Molinari The treatment of the instruments and the formal process aim for the impression of a quasi-improvisation in which the “uncertainty” is continually increasing. In the second movement it explodes … Continue reading Schnittke String Quartet no. 1
performed by the Jean Sibelius Quartet, available on Spotify (cover image by Martin Adams) We now welcome Aulis Sallinen to the Editor’s Choice series. He’s the only living member of the roster that I’m aware of. We first saw him in the … Continue reading Sallinen String Quartet no. 1, op. 14
performed by the Arditti Quartet, a recording that’s almost completely unavailable now (cover image by Martino Pietropoli) Henze’s second string quartet was written in 1952, when the composer was around 26 years old. It was a commission from the Südwestfunk … Continue reading Henze String Quartet no. 2
performed by the Kontra Quartet, available on Spotify (cover image by Arash Asghari) Vagn Holmboe’s fourth quartet dates from 1954, about four years after the previous quartet. This was already after his eighth symphony, and he would go back and revise this … Continue reading Holmboe String Quartet no. 4, op. 63
performed by the Quatuor Danel, available on Spotify (cover image by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen) The second string quartet of Mieczysław Weinberg was written in 1940. There is unfortunately not really a lot online about this piece, so this introductory bit will … Continue reading Weinberg String Quartet no. 2, op. 3
performed by the Martinů Quartet, available from Spotify on this album (cover image by Chris Barbalis) Martinů’s brilliantly engaging second quartet was written in 1925, and published in 1927. Depending on the source, it was written either “in Paris” (says Keith Anderson … Continue reading Martinů String Quartet no. 2, H. 150
performed by the Lysell String Quartet, available on Spotify (cover image by Delyn Stirewalt) And here we are with more of the Editor’s Choice series. For a refresher, this series features 20th century composers who gave us a whole cycle … Continue reading Rosenberg String Quartet no. 2, op. 21
performed by the Artemis Quartet, or below by the Alban Berg Quartet Would it be going too far to suppose a connection between this extraordinary work and Beethoven’s advancing deafness? Could that painfully groping introduction seem like someone trying to … Continue reading Beethoven String Quartet no. 9 in C, op. 59 no. 3
performed by the Artemis Quartet, or below by the Alban Berg Quartet (cover image by Francisco De Legarreta C.) We find ourselves now at the second of Beethoven’s three Razumovsky quartets. The works were written in 1806 for the Russian … Continue reading Beethoven String Quartet no. 8 in Em, op. 59 no. 2
performed by the Amadeus Quartet (cover image by Brooke Lark) So we, uh… jump back a few important years to the tenth quartet, written in 1773. The middle of this decade is clearly a time when the composer advances noticeably … Continue reading Mozart String Quartet no. 10 in C, K. 170
Fugue for Thought 