Stephan Barratt-Due & Oslo Camerata - Grieg: String Quartets (arranged for String Orchestra) (2012)

Grieg’s String Quartet in G minor has long established itself as one of the finest such works of the second half of the nineteenth century. The distinction of its thematic material, and its use in cyclical form, is reinforced by an ultimately victorious motto theme. The F major Quartet was written later, but remained unfinished, but it too is a fertile creation with a strong dance profile. Both works are heard in Alf Årdal’s imaginative arrangements for string orchestra. Arne Nordheim, the leading Norwegian composer of the 20th century, wrote Rendezvous as a quartet but expanded it in 1986. It is an intense, moving, and beautifully crafted work.