Pacifica Quartet - Declarations - Music Between the Wars (2006)

Tracklist

01. String Quartet No. 2, JW VII/13, "Listy duverne" (Intimate Letters): I. Andante
02. String Quartet No. 2, JW VII/13, "Listy duverne" (Intimate Letters): II. Adagio
03. String Quartet No. 2, JW VII/13, "Listy duverne" (Intimate Letters): III. Moderato
04. String Quartet No. 2, JW VII/13, "Listy duverne" (Intimate Letters): IV. Allegro
05. String Quartet, "1931": I. Rubato assai
06. String Quartet, "1931": II. Leggiero
07. String Quartet, "1931": III. Andante
08. String Quartet, "1931": IV. Allegro possibile
09. String Quartet No. 4, Op. 22: I. Fugato: Sehr langsame Viertel
10. String Quartet No. 4, Op. 22: II. Schnelle Achtel: Sehr energisch
11. String Quartet No. 4, Op. 22: III. Ruhige Viertel: Stets fliessend
12. String Quartet No. 4, Op. 22: IV. Massig schnelle Viertel
13. String Quartet No. 4, Op. 22: V. Rondo: Gemachlich und mit Grazie

On this CD, the Pacifica Quartet mines the artistic ferment of the interwar years with a program of gems from the 1920s and early 30s. Hindemith's stunning String Quartet No. 4, Op. 22 (1922) takes listeners on an amazing musical journey. Janácek's fervent String Quartet No. 2 ("Intimate Letters") from 1928 expresses the mature composer's white-hot passion for a much younger woman. And the Pacifica revives the most significant composition by American Ruth Crawford Seeger: her dramatic 1931 String Quartet, which noted composer and critic Virgil Thomson hailed as "a noble piece of work."

The "magnificently polished" (New York Times) Pacifica Quartet delivers precisely what these inventive and emotionally complex works demand: "playing of the most sublime kind, utterly absorbing in its subtle expressiveness." (London Daily Telegraph). Hear for yourself why so many critics have declared their admiration for the Pacifica Quartet and its musical choices.

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