For Louis Spohr, virtuoso violinist and composer, the string quartet ran like a thread throughout his life. Strongly influenced by both the Viennese classics and the French violin school, he wrote a series of works that incorporated both of these models as he became one of the most important and esteemed composers of the first part of the nineteenth century. Both of the quartets on this recording reflect these different elements of his music, from the elegant refinement and impressive lyricism of the Quartet No. 23 to the thrilling panache of the technically demanding Quartet No. 26. This is the penultimate volume in the Marco Polo series of Spohr’s string quartets. - Marco Polo