Suske Quartet - Beethoven: Complete String Quartets (2013)

Tracklist

01. String Quartet No. 1 in F Major, Op. 18: I. Allegro con brio
02. String Quartet No. 1 in F Major, Op. 18: II. Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato
03. String Quartet No. 1 in F Major, Op. 18: III. Scherzo. Allegro molto-Trio
04. String Quartet No. 1 in F Major, Op. 18: IV. Allegro
05. String Quartet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 18: I. Allegro
06. String Quartet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 18: II. Adagio cantabile-Allegro-Tempo I
07. String Quartet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 18: III. Scherzo. Allegro-Trio
08. String Quartet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 18: IV. Allegro molto, quasi presto
09. String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 18: I. Allegro
10. String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 18: II. Andante con moto
11. String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 18: III. Allegro
12. String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 18: IV. Presto
13. String Quartet No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 18: I. Allegro ma non tanto
14. String Quartet No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 18: II. Scherzo. Andante scherzo, quasi allegretto
15. String Quartet No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 18: III. Menuetto. Allegretto-Trio
16. String Quartet No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 18: IV. Allegro
17. String Quartet No. 5 in A Major, Op. 18: I. Allegro
18. String Quartet No. 5 in A Major, Op. 18: II. Menuetto-Trio
19. String Quartet No. 5 in A Major, Op. 18: III. Andante cantabile
20. String Quartet No. 5 in A Major, Op. 18: IV. Allegro
21. String Quartet No. 6 in B-Flat Major, Op. 18: I. Allegro con brio
22. String Quartet No. 6 in B-Flat Major, Op. 18: II. Adagio ma non troppo
23. String Quartet No. 6 in B-Flat Major, Op. 18: III. Scherzo. Allegro-Trio
24. String Quartet No. 6 in B-Flat Major, Op. 18: IV. Adagio (La Malinconia)-Allegretto, quasi allegro
25. Minuet in A-Flat Major, Hess 33
26. String Quartet No. 7 in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1 "Rasumovsky": I. Allegro
27. String Quartet No. 7 in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1 "Rasumovsky": II. Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando
28. String Quartet No. 7 in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1 "Rasumovsky": III. Adagio molto e mesto
29. String Quartet No. 7 in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1 "Rasumovsky": IV. Allegro (Thème russe)
30. String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2 "Rasumovsky": I. Allegro
31. String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2 "Rasumovsky": II. Molto adagio
32. String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2 "Rasumovsky": III. Allegretto
33. String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2 "Rasumovsky": IV. Finale. Presto
34. String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3 "Rasumovsky": I. Introduzione. Andante con moto-Allegro vivace
35. String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3 "Rasumovsky": II. Andante con moto, quasi allegretto
36. String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3 "Rasumovsky": III. Menuetto. Grazioso-Trio
37. String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3 "Rasumovsky": IV. Allegro molto
38. String Quartet No. 10 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74 "Harp": I. Poco adagio-Allegro
39. String Quartet No. 10 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74 "Harp": II. Adagio ma non troppo
40. String Quartet No. 10 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74 "Harp": III. Presto
41. String Quartet No. 10 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74 "Harp": IV. Allegretto con variazioni
42. String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95 "Quartetto serioso": I. Allegro con brio
43. String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95 "Quartetto serioso": II. Allegretto ma non troppo
44. String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95 "Quartetto serioso": III. Allegro assai vivace, ma serioso
45. String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95 "Quartetto serioso": IV. Larghetto espressivo-Allegretto agitato-Allegro
46. String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: I. Adagio ma non troppo-Allegro
47. String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: II. Presto
48. String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: III. Andante con moto, ma non troppo
49. String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: IV. Alla danza tedesca. Allegro assai
50. String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: V. Cavatina. Adagio molto espressivo
51. String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: VI. Finale. Allegro
52. Große Fuge in B-Flat Major, Op. 133
53. String Quartet No. 12 in E-Flat Major, Op. 127: I. Maestoso-Allegro
54. String Quartet No. 12 in E-Flat Major, Op. 127: II. Adagio ma non troppo e molto cantabile
55. String Quartet No. 12 in E-Flat Major, Op. 127: III. Scherzando vivace
56. String Quartet No. 12 in E-Flat Major, Op. 127: IV. Finale
57. String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: I. Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo
58. String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: II. Allegro molto vivace
59. String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: III. Allegro molto moderato-Adagio-Più vivace
60. String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: IV. Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile
61. String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: V. Presto
62. String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: VI. Adagio quasi un poco andante
63. String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: VII. Allegro
64. String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132: I. Assai sostenuto-Allegro
65. String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132: II. Allegro ma non troppo
66. String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132: III. Molto adagio. Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit in der lydischen Tonart
67. String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132: IV. Alla marcia, assai vivace
68. String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132: V. Finale. Allegro appassionato
69. String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135: I. Allegretto
70. String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135: II. Vivace
71. String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135: III. Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo
72. String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135: IV. Grave ma non troppo tratto-Allegro


The genius of Beethoven is probably not most commonly associated with chamber music.

Indeed, for considerable stretches of his career he avoided the string quartet, a musical form with such an exalted status at the time; he mostly took on the challenge towards the ends of what are often regarded as his two ‘creative periods’. When he did, however, he was at the pinnacle of his chamber music abilities. The pieces in this collection can be grouped according to three distinct periods of Beethoven’s life. The first set are to some extent indebted to Haydn and Mozart – as the melancholic Op.18 No.6 shows in particular – but equally show Beethoven starting to forge a new path of his own. The (at the time) somewhat misunderstood middle set stretch the quartet form to nearsymphonic length, and add a level of virtuosity worthy of the concert hall rather than the traditionally private sphere of chamber music.

Finally, the last set transcend the composer’s previous quartets both in form and harmony to reach a level of technical abstraction that was not recognised for its brilliance until after the composer’s life – a quality audible especially in the quartet in B flat major, which Beethoven’s biographer referred to as a ‘monster of quartet music’. The pieces are performed by the Suske Quartett, a German quartet whose popularity was at its height in the 1970s, and for whom recording Beethoven was a staple of their musical life: the recording career of the group’s original line‐up both began and ended with Beethoven pieces.

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