Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 1 Quartetto di Cremona

• 1 I. Allegro con brio 05:54
• 2 II. Adagio ma non Troppo 06:38
• 3 III. Scherzo - Trio 03:10
• 4 IV. La Malinconia. Adagio - Allegretto quasi Allegro 08:26
• 5 I. Allegro con Brio 04:10
• 6 II. Allegretto ma non Troppo 06:37
• 7 III. Allegro assai vivace ma Serioso 04:32
• 8 IV. Larghetto espressivo - Allegretto Agitato 04:42
• 9 I. Allegretto 06:28
• 10 II. Vivace 03:22
• 11 III. Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo 06:49
• 12 IV. 'Der schwer gefaßte Entschluß (The Difficult Decision) 06:57
• Total Runtime 01:07:45

Info for Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 1

During the past ten years the Quartetto di Cremona has matured into a string quartet of international renown, combining the Italian culture of string playing with an awareness of historical performance practice. Having for many years performed at the great international halls, it is often regarded as the successor to the famous Quartetto Italiano. The musical style of the Quartetto di Cremona is marked by a fruitful tension between Italian and German-Austrian influences: Following their academic studies the players continued their training with Piero Farulli of the Quartetto Italiano. He strongly favoured intuitive playing and a fervent, emotional, romantic and 'Italian' approach to music. Afterwards the musicians pursued their studies with Hatto Beyerle of the Alban Berg Quartet who represents a clear, classical, 'German-Austrian' style, focusing on faithfulness to the original, form and structure as a basis for musical interpretation and inspiration. Both teachers have left a lasting impression on the quartet and significantly influenced its musical style. The players naturally unite both poles, combining boisterous enthusiasm with a distinct sense for musical architecture, cultivating the fusion of structure and expression, external shape and internal passion.

With the three works contained in Volume 1, the Quartetto di Cremona covers the most important periods of Beethoven's quartet oeuvre. The final of the six Op. 18 Quartets features a mysteriously programmatic dimension in its last movement, 'La Malinconia', whereas Op. 95 from Beethoven's middle period is both highly compact yet dramatically gripping. The disc closes with Beethoven's final Quartet, Op. 135, completed in Vienna one year before his death: it differs from his less easily approachable late works in taking on a conciliatory stance.　

„My goodness, here is something special. Volume 1 in a new recording of Beethoven's complete string quartets is a stunner. [...] The sheer power, energy and attack from the group, on my first hearing of the disc, totally took my breath away.…“ (The Herald Scotland)

Quartetto di Cremona

Quartetto di Cremona
Internationally renowned for their "extremely mature and lyrical sound" (Strad), the Quartetto di Cremona now graces the stages of the most prestigious venues. Their focus and intensity brings life to music from the “tight blend and immaculate voicing” of their Brahms to the “sleek and elegant” dynamic countouring of their Mozart (Strad). The Quartetto di Cremona’s dedication to their work as a string quartet shows through their music.

The Quartetto di Cremona formed in 2000 at the Stauffer Academy in Cremona and continued their studies with Hatto Beyerle. In 2005 the Quartetto di Cremona received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship.

Building on their early successes, the Quartetto di Cremona has played to critical acclaim at the most important venues and festivals in Europe including at the Beethoven Haus and BeethovenFest Bonn, Konzerthaus (Berlin), Klara Festival (Brussels), Mecklenberg Vorpommen Music Festival, Båstad Chamber Music Festival, Turku Music Festival, Handelsbeurs (Gent), Moving on Music Festival (Northern Ireland, recorded by BBC Radio 3), and numerous performances at the Wigmore Hall (London).

The Quartetto di Cremona has toured extensively in Australia and performed at the renowned Perth International Art Festival Australia. In the USA, they recently won the eleventh Web Concert Hall Competition and they will perform at Metropolitan Museum in March 2013.

In their homeland of Italy they have made their name performing at the Accademia di S. Cecilia in Rome and at the most renowned Italian music societies. The Quartet was nominated "Artist in Residence" at the Societa' del Quartetto of Milan and will be involved in various projects culminating in 2014 for the 150th anniversary of the Societa' del Quartetto – when they will perform the complete cycle of Beethoven quartets.

Recent and forthcoming tours include engagements in the USA, Japan, Mexico and China and in Europe the Quartetto di Cremona will tour the UK, Italy, Scandinavia, Germany, and make a debut tour of Austria.

Their extensive repertoire ranges from the early Haydn quartets to Wolfgang Rihm and Helmut Lachenmann, with particular interest in contemporary Italian music including the composers Fabio Vacchi, Luciano Berio and Luigi Nono.

Their debut recording for Decca encompassed the complete string quartets by Fabio Vacchi, released in April 2011. From July 2012 over the next two seasons the Quartetto di Cremona will record the complete Beethoven String Quartets for the German label Audite, which also issued Italian Journey, dedicated to Italian composers in November 2012.

An important part of the Quartetto di Cremona’s activity is teaching master classes throughout Europe. Since Autumn 2011, the Quartet has taught at the Walter Stauffer Academy in Cremona.

The Quartetto di Cremona has been chosen as a testimonial of the International project "Friends of Stradivari".

This album contains no booklet.