MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets Vol 1
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets Vol 1
Belcea Quartet
[ Zig Zag / 4 CD Box Set ]
Release Date: Thursday 20 December 2012
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In 2001, Zig-Zag Territoires had already perceived the singularity as well as the potential of this ensemble, which had just won the Bordeaux International Quartet Competition. That first encounter had resulted in a very fine disc devoted to the quartets of Janaček, widely hailed by the critics (Diapason d'Or).
In the ensuing eleven years, the Belcea Quartet built up a large repertoire and initiated a discography with our colleagues at EMI that attracted considerable attention. Thus this is a particularly propitious moment to implement a new, confident, long-term partnership between Belcea and ZZT.
This collaboration is beginning with a complete recording of the Beethoven Quartets, a founding cycle if ever there was one.
The Belcea Quartet began a worldwide tour focussing on this cycle that will continue through the end of the 2012-13 season.
The second volume will follow in 2013.
GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST 2013: Chamber
"They play with extraordinary strenuousness, very unlike the Alban Berg Quartet with whom they studied. The Belceas re-enact the creative torments of the composer to a degree where you feel their instruments might suffer...the magnificent cellist Antoine Lederlin cultivates a roudned tone, even under pressure, but the overall effect is of a lean, muscular sound" BBC Music Magazine, February 2013 ****
"I'm particularly impressed by the Belcea's close attention to dynamics...Their playing may have a very different sound from the string quartets of Beethoven's day but the way the music breathes and moves gives a clear picture of his intentions...this promises to be an outstanding set - not the last word on these endlessly fascinating works, perhaps, but performances of great artistry and perception." Gramophone Magazine, January 2013
"Tuning remains pristine throughout...Faultless and unsettling." The Independent, 11th November 2012 *****
"The present cycle was recorded in concert in the wonderful acoustic of the Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh during 2011-2012. The quartet devoted a year to the project in which 'Beethoven's music became an all-consuming passion for each of us'. Abandoning the usual chronological opus groupings, the Belcea has adopted a mix-and-match approach. Some may consider the choice of works on a particular CD arbitrary, but I rather like the way each disc contains early, middle and late quartets. In this way, there is an element of surprise and unpredictability to the listening experience, with preconceived ideas and expectations dissolved. Whilst this may not be to everyone's taste, I warm to this unconventional approach and find it quite refreshing." (MusicWeb)
Tracks:
String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op. 18 No. 6
String Quartet No. 12 in E flat major, Op. 127
String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 18 No. 2
String Quartet No. 9 in C major, Op. 59 No. 3 'Rasumovsky No. 3'
String Quartet No. 11 in F minor Op. 95 'Serioso'
String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131
String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 18 No. 1
String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18 No. 4
