Mozart's early string quartets, written during his travels, were considered 'finger exercises' by his father Leopold and were not published during Mozart's lifetime.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Mozart's string quartets, especially the 'Haydn' Quartets, aimed to achieve a high level of compositional mastery while still being enjoyable and not overwhelming for the listener.
Performer Biography
The Armida Quartet, founded in Berlin in 2006, is named after an opera by Joseph Haydn, who is considered the 'father of the string quartet'.
Recording & Production
The Armida Quartet serves as musical consultants for the new Henle Urtext edition of Mozart's complete string quartets, providing their own fingerings and bowings for the associated app.
Interpretation
The Armida Quartet collaborates with musicologist Wolf-Dieter Seiffert from Henle music publishers to study Mozart's original manuscripts, sometimes leading to new interpretations of passages.
Recording & Production
This album is part of a larger project by the Armida Quartet to record all of Mozart's string quartets, with the complete series expected by 2021.
Performer Biography
The Armida Quartet gained significant recognition after winning First Prize, the Audience Prize, and six other special prizes at the International ARD Music Competition in 2012.
