Dvoøák: Quartet No.12 / Smetana: Quartet No.1 Tokyo String Quartet and David Watkin

• 1 I. Allegro ma non troppo 09:45
• 2 II. Lento 07:13
• 3 III. Molto vivace 04:05
• 4 IV. Finale: Vivace ma non troppo 05:41
• 5 I. Allegro vivo appassionato 07:08
• 6 II. Allegro moderato a la Polka 05:25
• 7 III. Largo sostenuto 08:14
• 8 IV. Finale: Vivace 05:44
• Total Runtime 53:15

Info for Dvoøák: Quartet No.12 / Smetana: Quartet No.1

In its valedictory release, the world-renowned Tokyo String Quartet presents a pair of well loved chamber works offering a glimpse into the private world of two Czech composers. Antonín Dvorak and Bedrich Smetana – although they were sometimes regarded as musical opposites in their homeland – together they came to represent the quintessential sound of 19th-century Czech music.

Regarded as one of the supreme chamber ensembles of the world, the Tokyo String Quartet has captivated audiences and critics alike since it was founded 45 years ago. Performing over 100 concerts worldwide each season, the quartet has a devoted international following that includes the major capitals of the world and extends to all four corners of the globe.

Officially formed in 1969 at the Juilliard School of Music, the Tokyo String Quartet traces its origins to the Toho School of Music in Tokyo, where the founding members were profoundly influenced by Professor Hideo Saito. An exclusive collaboration with Deutsche Grammophon (more than 40 landmark recordings) firmly established it as one of the world’s leading quartets. The ensemble's recordingss for harmonia mundi USA have included an acclaimed cycle of Beethoven’s string quartets. Its most recent release was devoted to the Brahms Quintets Op. 34 (with Jon Nakamatsu, piano) and Op. 115 (with Jon Manasse, clarinet).

'Dvorak's American Quartet and Smetana's From My Life: 'Two magnificent four-part, four-way miniaturisations of mental and physical immensity, executed with single-minded brilliance.

...The American’s volatile combination of pioneering optimism and world-weary acceptance, jaunty melody and haunted history, an intimate relation his New World Symphony, comes from the verge of the American 20th century when classical music was perversely seen as a solution to the troublesome construction of a distinct American musical voice. It’s a perfect way for the Tokyo Quartet to end, with their version of an unlikely, exploratory beginning.

And then, their enlightened, plangent version of a defiant ending: Smetana’s impassioned autobiographical compression of a life that was breaking down reflects their own story, their experienced commitment to how a great, liquid string quartet transmitted with vim and sensitivity can symbolise a whole existence, the introspection, the exuberance, the pleasure, the pain, the panic, the peace of mind, and the poignant fading into silence that inevitably follows all the dazzling, joyous, forward-looking life and energy.' (Paul Morley, Sinfini Music)

Martin Beaver, violin
Kikuei Ikeda, violin
Kazuhide Isomura, viola
Clive Greensmith, violoncello

Recorded in February 2006 at the Richard B. Fisher center for the Performing Arts, Bard college, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
Recording Engineer & Editor: Brad Michel
Recorded, edited & mastered in DSD
Producer: Robina g. Young

Tokyo String Quartet
Regarded as one of the supreme chamber ensembles of the world, the Tokyo String Quartet has captivated audiences and critics alike since it was founded 45 years ago. Performing over a hundred concerts worldwide each season, the quartet has a devoted international following that includes the major capitals of the world and extends to all four corners of the globe, from Australia to Estonia to Scandinavia and the Far East. The Tokyo Quartet has served on the faculty at the Yale School of Music since 1976 and is quartet-in-residence at New York’s 92nd Street Y. Deeply committed to coaching young string quartets, the musicians regularly conduct master classes throughout North America, Europe and Japan.

Officially formed in 1969 at the Juilliard School of Music, the Tokyo String Quartet traces its origins to the Toho School of Music in Tokyo, where the founding members were profoundly influenced by Professor Hideo Saito. Soon after its formation, the quartet won First Prize at the Coleman Competition, the Munich Competition and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. An exclusive collaboration with Deutsche Grammophon (more than 40 landmark recordings) firmly established it as one of the world’s leading quartets. The ensemble now records for harmonia mundi usa and has brought out an acclaimed cycle of Beethoven’s complete string quartets. Its most recent release is devoted to the Brahms Quintets Op. 34 (with Jon Nakamatsu, piano) and Op. 115 (with Jon Manasse, clarinet).

The Tokyo String Quartet performs on ‘The Paganini Quartet’, a group of renowned Stradivarius instruments named for legendary virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, who acquired and played them during the 19th century. The instruments have been on loan to the ensemble from the Nippon Music Foundation since 1995, when they were purchased from the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

This album contains no booklet.