Italian String Quartets by Boccherini, Bazzini, Verdi, Puccini, Zandonai, Respighi, and Malipiero
7/1/2005, 96 Tracks, 10:26:29
Featuring
Andrea Vio
Alberto Battiston
Luca Morassutti
Angelo Zanin
Venice String Quartet
Luigi Boccherini
Antonio Bazzini
Giuseppe Verdi
Giacomo Puccini
Riccardo Zandonai
Ottorino Respighi
Gian Francesco Malipiero
Did you know?
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Historical Context
The 19th century saw a decline in Italian instrumental music, partly due to a lack of concert organizations, inadequate publishing, and a growing interest in opera.
Composer Biography
Giacomo Puccini, known for his operas, contributed very little to chamber music, mostly writing scholastic pieces or short, sporadic works.
Composer Biography
Luigi Boccherini, a prolific Italian composer, wrote 91 string quartets that were very popular in his time, as evidenced by numerous reprints across Europe.
Instruments
The first violinist of the Quartetto di Venezia plays a 1651 Nicola Amati 'Scourdille' violin, which belongs to the Pro Canale-Onlus Foundation of Milan.
Performer Biography
The Quartetto di Venezia was influenced by two fundamental schools of quartet interpretation: the famous Quartetto Italiano and the renowned Vegh Quartet.
Critical Reception
Giuseppe Verdi, the famous Italian opera composer, initially greeted the emergence of Italian Quartet Societies in the 1860s with "ill-disguised annoyance."
Historical Context
The string quartet, like many other musical forms, began its history in Italy but reached its peak with Austro-German classical composers like Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven.
