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Sibelius string quartets review4/23/2024 ![]() This one’s from a young foursome on a small label, so many collectors might be tempted to pass it by. The music captures Schubert’s fearful state of mind in a remarkable ‘freeze frame’ effect. Hard on the heels of acclaimed versions by the Talich and Emerson quartets, here’s yet another set of the complete Mendelssohn String Quartets. ‘Give me your hand, you fair and gentle creature I am a friend and do not come to punish’ sings Death soothingly. 20 no.1 (Hob.III:31) is indeed worthy of the subtitle ‘Sun’ beginning with a theme taken by the first violin, joined by viola before the second violin and cello. The D minor quartet makes ingenious use of his earlier song ‘Death and the Maiden’ from 1817 in the slow movement’s variations. These quartets are regarded as demonstrating the full maturity of the Viennese Classical style and the string quartet itself. With his emotions veering from happy memories of earlier years to shuddering terror at the prospect of death, he composed two string quartets and the Octet over a two- month period. "I am the most unhappy and wretched creature in the world…whose health will never be right again" wrote Schubert to a friend in 1824. Taut and highly concentrated, it has an almost Haydnesque construction, and the quartet’s first movement’s sheer perfection of form approaches that of the 3rd Symphony’s opening movement. Sibelius later wrote about the composition: The melodic material. The bleak and highly personal 4th Symphony is the masterwork from this period, but the string quartet ‘Intimate Voices’ of 1908 should not be underestimated. It is not a composition for the public at large, it is so eccentric and out of the ordinary. Sibelius had undergone several operations to remove a tumour in his throat. Sibelius Voces intimae quartet: This is one of the very few chamber works from Sibelius' mature period. I never would have thought of putting these two works together, but in this group’s hands it has resulted in something wonderful. The CD has some good moments but has quite a few flaws. Ehnes Quartet (Onyx) 'The Ehnes Quartet’s Sibelius tells a similar story of deep soul painted with a panoply of colours, dynamics and emotion, with a natural dramatic flow throughout. $ ĭeath preyed heavily on the minds of both Schubert and Sibelius when they were composing the two string quartets on this new CD from the Ehnes Quartet. This 1970s recording of the Sibelius and Delius String Quartets by the British Fitzwilliam Quartet is reissued here by EMI along with a 1970 performance of the Delius Cello Sonata. Or Debussy and Ravel (Hyperion CDA67759). Want More? Hear the Dante Quartetina glorious disc of Franck and Fauré (Hyperion CDA67664). The Verdict: A very fine disc that paints its intense emotional content in suitably strong colours, though not every turn quite takes off and flies. They do, though, become slightly bogged down in the earthiness and the Smetana could have jumped up as well as down more often. In the United States, all works first published in. Works by this person are not in the public domain in countries with a life+70 copyright term (including all EU countries), unless an exception applies. ![]() Each player contributes bag-loads of personality, drawing out the chill winds of Sibelius and the earthy rhythms of Smetana’s Czech polkas, against which the onset of the composer’s hearing-loss – depicted by a high-pitched violin whine – is all too heart-rending. Works are generally in the public domain in Canada (where IMSLP is hosted) if the creator died in 1971 or earlier. The Performance: The Dante Quartet has developed into a force to be reckoned with, bringing together four well-established, experienced and intelligent chamber musicians (the first violin, Krysia Osostowicz, for instance, is a veteran of the much-loved Domus). Sibelius’s ‘Voces intimae’ and Smetana’s ‘From my life’ go further, both being directly autobiographical. ![]() Their string quartets offer their most personal and concentrated thoughts. The Music: Sibelius and Smetana hailed from different eras and different countries, yet they are a formidable pairing and both were preoccupied with highly individual sounds that are infused with musical nationalism (respectively Finnish and Czech). ![]()
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