Melos Quartett - Cherubini: The String Quartets (1989)

Tracklist

CD1
01. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 1 In E Flat Major (1814) - 1. Adagio - Allegro agitato
02. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 1 In E Flat Major (1814) - 2. Larghetto sans lenteur
03. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 1 In E Flat Major (1814) - 3. Scherzo: Allegretto moderato
04. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 1 In E Flat Major (1814) - 4. Finale: Allegra assai
05. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 2 In C Major (1829) - 1. Lento - Allegro
06. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 2 In C Major (1829) - 2. Lento
07. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 2 In C Major (1829) - 3. Scherzo: Allegro assai
08. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 2 In C Major (1829) - 4. Finale: Allegro vivace

CD2
09. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 3 In D Minor (1834) - 1. Allegro comodo
10. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 3 In D Minor (1834) - 2. Larghetto sostenuto
11. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 3 In D Minor (1834) - 3. Scherzo
12. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 3 In D Minor (1834) - 4. Finale: Allegro risoluto
13. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 4 In E Major (1835) - 1. Allegro maestoso
14. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 4 In E Major (1835) - 2. Larghetto
15. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 4 In E Major (1835) - 3. Scherzo
16. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 4 In E Major (1835) - 4. Finale: Allegro assai

CD3
17. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 5 In F Major (1835) - 1. Moderato assai
18. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 5 In F Major (1835) - 2. Adagio
19. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 5 In F Major (1835) - 3. Scherzo: Allegro non troppo
20. Cherubini: String Quartet No. 5 In F Major (1835) - 4. Finale: Allegro vivace
21. Cherubini: String Quartet In A Minor (1837) - 1. Allegro moderato
22. Cherubini: String Quartet In A Minor (1837) - 2. Andantino grazioso
23. Cherubini: String Quartet In A Minor (1837) - 3. Scherzo: Allegro
24. Cherubini: String Quartet In A Minor (1837) - 4. Finale: Allegro affettuoso

Open-minded listeners looking for unfamiliar string quartets by a master composer of the same period as Beethoven and Schubert will likely be delighted by the six quartets of Luigi Cherubini. Written mostly between 1829 and 1837, the Italian-French composer's quartets are in the standard forms in the usual four movements. He fills those forms with entirely new content, which, if not as vigorously argued as Beethoven's nor as gloriously lyrical as Schubert's, is nevertheless elegantly expressive, consummately dramatic, and often utterly unexpected. Cherubini's quartets have received occasional recordings, but none have matched this set from Germany's Melos Quartet. Originally issued on Deutsche Grammophon in the late '70s and reissued by Brilliant in 2009, the Melos Quartet's Cherubini is robust but not overly muscular, tender but not overly sweet, and rhythmic but not overly driven. Best of all, the interpretations are wholly appropriate, catching the composer's unique fusion of high classical forms with early Romantic content. Recorded in lush stereo, this three-disc set deserves to be heard by anyone who enjoys chamber music from the early years of the 19th century.

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