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Beethoven: The Middle Quartets

10/1/2009, 20 Tracks, 2:43:32

Featuring

  • Zakarias Grafilo
  • Frederick Lifsitz
  • Paul Yarbrough
  • Sandy Wilson
  • Alexander String Quartet
  • Ludwig van Beethoven

Did you know?

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Composer Biography

As a boy, Beethoven took violin and viola lessons and played viola in electoral and opera orchestras in Bonn, performing works like 'The Marriage of Figaro' and 'Don Giovanni' while Mozart was still alive.

Source: Booklet

Composition History

The 'middle' quartets on this album, composed between 1805 and 1810, represent a huge expansion of the string quartet's possibilities and were considered extremely difficult by contemporary audiences and performers.

Source: Booklet

Composition History

Beethoven's friendship with violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh, who led a prominent string quartet in Vienna, lasted until the composer's death, and Schuppanzigh's quartet premiered many of Beethoven's quartets.

Source: Booklet

Critical Reception

The 'Razumovsky Quartets' (Opus 59) were so original that they redefined the string quartet, alienating early audiences, with some critics calling them 'symphony quartets' due to their massive scale.

Source: Booklet

Historical Context

Ignaz Schuppanzigh's quartet helped transform the string quartet from music intended for home performance into 'concert music' by giving the first 'public' performances in 1804.

Source: Booklet

Performer Biography

The Alexander String Quartet, formed in NYC in 1981, serves as directors of the Morrison Chamber Music Center at SF State and Ensemble in Residence with San Francisco Performances.

Source: Booklet

Composition History

Count Andreas Kyrillovich Razumovsky, the Russian ambassador to Vienna and an amateur violinist, commissioned the three 'Razumovsky Quartets' (Opus 59) from Beethoven in 1805, providing Russian themes for inclusion.

Source: Booklet

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Beethoven: String Quartets Nos. 12 & 16
Beethoven: String Quartets, Op. 18, Nos. 5 and 6
Beethoven: The Early String Quartets
Beethoven: The String Quartets, Vol. 2
Beethoven: String Quartets Op. 18, Nos. 1 and 2
Beethoven: String Quartets, Op. 18 Nos. 4 & 5
Beethoven Quartets Op. 18, 1 & 2
Beethoven: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 18 No. 3; String Quartet in C Minor, Op. 18 No. 4
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 10 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74 "Harp" & String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95 "Quartetto serioso"
Beethoven: Die Streichquartette, Vol. 4
Beethoven : String Quartets Vol.4
Beethoven: String Quartets, Op. 59, No. 3, 'Rasumovsky' and Op. 127
Beethoven: String Quartets, Op. 74, 95, 135
Beethoven: String Quartets, Op. 18, No. 1-6
Beethoven: String Quartets Op, 74 & Op. 95
©℗ 2009 Foghorn Classics