Uncovering the roots of bartoks string quartets music toronto. Recommendations for recordings of bartoks string quartets. Sep 07, 2018 in the course of its fiftyyear history, the quartet performed more than six hundred works and recorded more than two hundred russian and international classical works. In turn expressionist, with webernlike denseness, then. The string quartets of bela bartok daniel peter biro. Mar 05, 2017 vegh quartet praga digitals 2 cds t he autobiographical story of bartoks six string quartets is as powerful as that of beethovens quartets.
He has written for various international musical journals, notably the strad, and for 11 years he edited the quarterly magazine classic record collector. But otherwise, i fear that it is time to write the. Theres little thats extroverted and certainly nothing extravagant about the ensembles traversal of these 15 worksjust consistently rich string tone, tasteful phrasing, intelligence, and impeccable musicianship, all in service of the music. First i got to know the gaunt profile and driving precision of the juilliard quartets stereo version, followed by the less virtuosic yet more idiomatically tinged, soulbearing vegh quartet remake kind of like going from prime ella fitzgerald to late billie holiday.
As a student in the mid1970s i became acquainted with bartoks string quartets through three recorded cycles. The first quartet 1907 glorifies beethovens 16 th, while the sixth closes with the quarter tones of a wistful mesto and gradually etiolating refrain. Quatuor guarneri, the guarneri quartet, the guarneri string quartet a931401. Recipients of the leverhulme junior chamber music fellowship at the royal college of music from 20032005, and the bulldog scholarship for string quartet at trinity college of music in 2006, the badke quartet has received widespread acclaim. Not sure though, i havent heard luigi nonos music for string quartet. String quartets by guarneri quartet on amazon music. Get a special offer and listen to over 60 million songs, anywhere with amazon music unlimited. The instruments are closely miked and the sound is nice and dry it sounds like they are playing in your living room so that the performances can be fully enjoyed. This one may come to be seen as rather centrist in the end, but is still recommendable. Bartok string quartet hungarian music group britannica.
Through teaching at harpur college which became binghamton university, university of maryland, curtis. The guarneri musicians were active in teaching throughout the quartets life. At the urging of violinist alexander schneider, the group collectively agreed to form a string quartet, taking their name from the famous italian family of violin makers. May 17, 2009 after 45 years, a guarneri quartet farewell forming a string quartet in the 1960s was an improbable dream for the guarneri quartet members. The earlier set was recorded at the height of the groups youthful fame, and the performances burn with passionate strength and sensuous energy. A survey of beethoven string quartet cycles ionarts. Guarneri quartet mozart mozart string quartets in bflat, k. The dates of composition of the six string quartets. Complete string quartets by heath quartet, bartok, na from amazons classical music store.
The beethoven project exploring the beethoven quartets on disc. Complete string quartets guarneri quartet release date. The badke quartet, formed in 2002, is widely recognised as one of britains finest young string quartets. Six string quartets classical music album play streams in full or download mp3 from classical archives, the largest and best organized classical music site on the web. With modern cd playerchangers, it is easy enough to program the. In the string quartets of beethoven or brahms, these rare and radiant episodes would. There are occasional moments in bartoks string quartet no. Stream adfree with amazon music unlimited on mobile, desktop, and tablet. Jul 10, 2008 guarneri quartet rca this is a cheap box set that was once full price.
Busch, hollywood, vegh, hungarian, griller, amadeus, guarneri, talich. And this brings us back to the string quartets and two brief glimpses of how bartoks scholarly field work influenced his composition. Shop for vinyl, cds and more from guarneri quartet at the discogs marketplace. The guarneri quartet s roots date to the 1964 marlboro festival, where as individual musicians they appeared with various ensembles and with pianist rudolf serkin. Bartoks string quartets explore the possibilities of the genre like few others. Bartok complete string quartets newton classics 8802111 gf. The guarneri quartet was an american string quartet founded in 1964 at the marlboro music school and festival. Vegh quartet praga digitals 2 cds t he autobiographical story of bartoks six string quartets is as powerful as that of beethovens quartets. Guarneri quartet 8 reissues never before on cd arkivmusic. Many paths to nirvana tully potter has been a professional journalist for more than 50 years. The quartet collaborated closely with the composer dmitri shostakovich and premiered thirteen of his fifteen string quartets, as well as the piano quintet and the second piano trio. Stream adfree with amazon music unlimited on mobile. The string quartets of bartok 1949 princeton university. T he recent performance of the string quartets of bela bartok by the juilliard string quartet served, by virtue of the stylistic unity of the.
The dates of composition of the six string quartets of bartok are as follows. Guarneri quartet bartok the six string quartets discogs. It was founded in 1957 as the komlos quartet by graduates of the college of musical arts in budapest. Bartok s string quartets explore the possibilities of the genre like few others.
Order from your preferred classical music cd store arkivmusic. The guarneri quartets solid and stable renditions should certainly satisfy those who prefer their beethoven straight, no chaser. This isnt the definitive recording of the bartok quartets ive collected dozens of recordings from the 40s up through the present day and i dont know that ive encountered the ideal version. Today every string quartet of any consequence aims to record the beethoven cycle and. Beethoven quartet dmitri tsyganov, violin nikolay zabavnikov, violin fyodor druzhinin, viola sergei shirinsky, cello date. Americas guarneri quartet recorded the complete string quartets of beethoven twice once in stereo for rca in the late 60s and then again in digital for philips in the late 80s and early 90s. Dear friends, we, the guarneri string quartet, have decided to retire at the end of the 200809. Dec 04, 2007 the badke quartet, formed in 2002, is widely recognised as one of britains finest young string quartets. Bartok string quartet, hungarian musical ensemble that is one of the worlds most renowned string quartets. Folk music, specifically certain types of hungarian folk music with its distinctive accent on the first beat, colours the cello theme at the beginning of the slow movement of bartoks fourth quartet. The guarneri quartet mendelssohn grieg string quartet in a minor, op.
But the guarneri quartet s reading is certainly the most idiosyncratic. This is the first of the guarneris two lvb string quartet cycles and the. Beethoven string quartets guarneri quartet 8 cd set. Neither the jerusalem or modigliani quartets offers a complete set as yet, however, and the bartok quartets are so attractive to modern quartet players that that are many recent ones to choose from. The recordings arent dead but they are extremely well played and the room is natural, not a church or other reverberant environment. Le quatuor talich the talich quartet calliope this i dont have complete, although i think there is a box set. Complete string quartets guarneri quartet on allmusic 2012. It quickly achieved critical acclaim with 1965 appearances at. Beethoven, string quartet no 5, guarneri quartet youtube. The guarneri bring plenty of vigour and weight to the more boisterous hunt quartet and there is more to enjoy here, even if the playing lacks the elegance that is also to be found in the musicfor example in the development section of the first movement and in the subtly eloquent adagio. Highlighting this season will be a gala program in new yorks carnegie hall, twenty years after their new york debut at the new school on february 28, 1965. Lawrence dutton, violist of the ninetime grammy winning emerson string quartet, has collaborated with many of the worlds great performing artists, including isaac stern, mstislav rostropovich, oscar shumsky, leon fleisher, sir paul mccartney, renee fleming, sir james galway, andre previn, menahem pressler, walter trampler, rudolf firkusny, emanuel ax, yefim bronfman, lynn harrell, joseph. 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. The first volume of their recording series of the complete beethoven string quartets comprises three distinctive works from beethovens early, middle and late periods.
Plenty of good string quartets were composed during the 19th century, but they were not as ambitious as beethovens. The guarneri string quartet celebrates its 20th anniversary season in 198485 with one hundred recitals in north america and europe. It was admired for its rich, warm, complex tone and its bold, dramatic interpretations of the quartet literature, with a particular affinity for the works of beethoven and bartok. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Bartok string quartets the classical music guide forums. Feb 16, 2007 plenty of good string quartets were composed during the 19th century, but they were not as ambitious as beethovens. First i got to know the gaunt profile and driving precision of the juilliard quartet s stereo version, followed by the less virtuosic yet more idiomatically tinged, soulbearing vegh quartet remake kind of like going from prime ella fitzgerald to late billie holiday. The string quartets by guarneri quartet on amazon music. The latter was the last work he wrote in hungary before he had to flee to the us. Maybe the first takacs recording from the 1980s, on hungarotron. I have really tried to like the guarneri quartet, a group which went four. Beethoven guarneri quartet beethoven guarneri quartet the middle string quartets opp. Beethoven the guarneri quartet the five middle quartets. Arnold steinhardt john dalley michael tree david soyer.