Presumed Beethoven. The Six String Quartets, Anh. 2

Featuring

Giacomo Coletti
Stefano Raccagni
Alessia Menin
Anna Camporini
Alla Maniera Italiana
Ludwig van Beethoven

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Compositional Technique

The quartets show an evident partiality for symmetrical constructions, a tendency to juxtapose ideas without deriving them from each other, and prominent cello writing.

Composition History

Mozart scholar Georges de Saint-Foix attributed these works to a young Beethoven in a 1923 article, believing they were written before Mozart's death.

Performer Biography

The Alla Maniera Italiana Quartet, formed in 2019, explores chamber repertoire from the 18th to 20th centuries with a historically informed approach, making it one of few such quartets internationally.

Composition History

The quartets are currently considered 'incorrectly attributed' to Mozart and 'not clearly attributable to Beethoven' in reference catalogues, appearing in their appendices as works of dubious attribution.

Recording & Production

This album is a world premiere recording of the Six String Quartets Anh. 2.

Composition History

The six quartets on this album were first referenced in September 1893 in a catalogue by August Artaria, a Viennese publisher, who listed them as '6 quartets for violin; attribution to Mozart dubious. Not engraved.'

Composition History

The graphological basis for attributing these quartets to Beethoven was undermined when Shin Augustinus Kojima identified the handwriting in question as that of Kaspar Karl van Beethoven, Ludwig's brother.