Narratio Quartet - Beethoven: Middle String Quartets (2024) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

CD1
01. String Quartet No.7 in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1: I. Allegro
02. String Quartet No.7 in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1: II. Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando
03. String Quartet No.7 in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1: III. Adagio molto e mesto
04. String Quartet No.7 in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1: IV. Thème russe. Allegro
05. String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2: I. Allegro
06. String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2: II. Molto Adagio. Si tratta questo pezzo con molto di sentimento
07. String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2: III. Allegretto
08. String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2: IV. Finale. Presto

CD2
01. String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3: I. Introduzione. Andante con moto - Allegro vivace
02. String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3: II. Andante con moto quasi Allegretto
03. String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3: III. Menuetto grazioso - Trio
04. String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3: IV. Allegro molto
05. String Quartet No. 10 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74: I. Poco Adagio
06. String Quartet No. 10 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74: II. Adagio ma non troppo
07. String Quartet No. 10 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74: III. Presto
08. String Quartet No. 10 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74: IV. Allegretto con variazioni



Beethoven’s string quartets were written in an era when chamber music was shifting from the salons of the nobility into the concert hall, and when chamber music ensembles were slowly but surely metamorphosing from being a pursuit for a mix of outstanding amateurs and professionals into a discipline for professionally trained musicians. In that sense the “Rasumowsky” quartets represent a turning point in the string quartet tradition. Count Rasumowsky, one of Beethoven’s principal patrons in the first decade of the nineteenth century and the Russian ambassador in Vienna, was also an excellent amateur violinist, playing second violin in the string quartet which he financed and which was led by the renowned Ignaz Schuppanzigh. The three quartets, Opus 59, which were dedicated to him, prompted him to give up his place in the quartet. He provided the members of this quartet with a fixed appointment in 1808, which even included a pension for life. Initially, the three Opus 59 quartets met with some resistance from the Viennese audiences. After the two opus numbers 18 and 59, both consisting of a group of quartets, opus 74 is a single work, generally considered as one of the most readily accessible.

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