Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 4 Quartetto di Cremona

• 1 I. Allegro con brio 09:17
• 2 II. Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato 09:01
• 3 III. Scherzo. Allegro molto - Trio 03:24
• 4 IV. Allegro 07:03
• 5 I. Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo 07:14
• 6 II. Allegro molto vivace 03:11
• 7 III. Allegro moderato 00:45
• 8 IV. Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile - Piu mosso - Andante moderato e lusinghiero - Adagio - Allegretto - Adagio ma non troppo e semplice - Allegretto - Allegretto 13:45
• 9 V. Presto 05:21
• 10 VI. Adagio quasi un poco andante 01:44
• 11 VII. Allegro 06:52
• Total Runtime 01:07:37

Info for Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 4

For the fourth time, the Quartetto di Cremona embark on a journey of the almost impervious cosmos of Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartets. This time, they have chosen two works forming a portal within the quartet writing of this composer who had made Vienna his home. Beethoven had opened his Op. 18 set with the Quartet in F major, written in 1798/99 at the behest of his patron and friend, Prince Lobkowicz. Despite the mellifluous, pastoral key, the music draws a long line from the brilliantly crafted first and last movements to the dark hues of the Adagio, apparently inspired by the tomb scene from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Even within the framework of the traditional form, Beethoven's quartet début achieves a maximum of moods and stylistic variety.

Beethoven's Quartet Op. 131 of 1826, generally perceived as a peak within his chamber music, is entirely different. It was written in the shadows of the Ninth Symphony and the Missa solemnis, but appears much more eccentric and 'experimental' than these two large-scale works. Seven sections of diverse tone and character are played without breaks in between; a brooding fugue stands alongside a sensitive adagio, a folk tune presto is next to a restless finale. The work was written for the Viennese violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh, whose quartet set the professional playing standard for the following hundred years. Schuppanzigh rehearsed Beethoven's Op. 131 painstakingly - without him this music, which was deemed not only unplayable but also 'unhearable' by contemporaries, would not exist.

“Beethoven's most experimental in the medium. The playing, as ever, is blisteringly detailed and right in your face: you can feel the grain of the music and actually hear the fierce tension of concentration through the players' breathing (part of it; not a distraction) … This gripping Cremona cycle goes from strength to strength.” (The Herald, Glasgow)

„Audite’s recording is close if not claustrophobic, close enough to differentiate the character of the four Italian instruments as well as their…“ (Gramophone)

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".

Booklet for Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 4