{"title":"Leipziger Streichquartett","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"brahms-clarinet-quintet-string-quartet-no-2-228911","title":"Brahms: Clarinet Quintet, String Quartet No 2 \/ Leipzig","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44625586225386,"sku":"760623071923","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/144747.jpg?v=1778185203"},{"product_id":"schoenberg-string-quartet-no-3-verklarte-nacht-164532","title":"Schoenberg: String Quartet No 3, Verklärte Nacht \/ Leipziger","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44624939647210,"sku":"760623077321","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/219655.jpg?v=1778185130"},{"product_id":"schonberg-string-quartets-leipzig-string-quartet-75936","title":"Schönberg: String Quartets \/ Leipzig String Quartet","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44624938860778,"sku":"760623091921","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/283483.jpg?v=1778185174"},{"product_id":"schonberg-string-quartets-no-2-4-oelze-93631","title":"Schönberg: String Quartets No 2 \u0026 4 \/Oelze, Leipzig Quartet","description":"REVIEWS:\u003cbr\u003eInternational Record Review (3\/00, p.80) - \"...The Leipzig Quartet handle the work with an obvious awareness of its inherent clarity....The blink-and-you'll-miss-it punctuation which anounces the entrance of [Oelze's] full-throated voice is superb in its...elegeant simplicity...\"","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44624938828010,"sku":"760623093529","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/299696.jpg?v=1778185027"},{"product_id":"schubert-complete-string-quartets-vol-3-leipzig-152272","title":"Schubert: Complete String Quartets Vol 3 \/ Leipzig Quartet","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44624936272106,"sku":"760623060323","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/144743_05a21207-c964-4f9d-ad9b-3dba9d622acd.jpg?v=1778185254"},{"product_id":"webern-complete-works-for-string-quartet-piano-215803","title":"Webern: Complete Works For String Quartet, Piano Quintet","description":"\u003cp\u003eIncludes work(s) by Anton von Webern.  Ensemble: Leipzig String Quartet.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44624690479338,"sku":"760623058924","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/144740.jpg?v=1778185010"},{"product_id":"haydn-string-quartets-vol-14-op-9-no-1-2-3","title":"Haydn: String Quartets, Vol. 14 - Op. 9, No. 1, 2 \u0026 3 \/ Leipzig String Quarte","description":"\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eJoseph Haydn must have been curious: Away from the extensive obligations for music at the court of Prince Esterhazy, he found in the string quartet the ideal field for experiments. The quartets from op. 9 contain ideas that would only find expression in symphonies and sonatas much later. The Leipzig String Quartet are starting with Quartets 1 to 3, that sound as fresh and new as if they had just come from the pen. After all, ten years of compositional experience lie between Haydn's first attempts in the genre and the six quartets op. 9. The pieces repeatedly demand ludicrously virtuosic passages from the first violin, and some movements with their bravura cadenzas are even reminiscent of a violin concerto. However, the far advanced balance of the voices is surprising. Far from being simply accompaniment, there are also many demanding details in the lower voices. The slow movements, which always come third in the op. 9 quartets, are grandiose and at the same time touching. Wide melodic arches give the primarius opulent opportunity to indulge and to \"speak\" in conversation, in order to finally create space for a final movement that is as lively as it is capricious. This is not least due to Italian influence, but Carl Philip Emanuel Bach also leaves his mark alongside Sammartini; the themes seem to be thrown down, gain immense lightness, and the works become increasingly individual. It is not known what Haydn's employer thought of the innovations; with the historically informed Leipzig String Quartet, he must certainly have taken a particular liking to them.\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012587901162,"sku":"760623223421","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4057391-2803051.jpg?v=1778267793"},{"product_id":"raff-chamber-music-vol-2-no-5-op-138-no-7-op-192-2-die-schone-mullerin-760623225524","title":"Raff: Chamber Music Vol. 2 - Quartets Opp. 138 \u0026 192\/2 \/ Leipziger String Quartet","description":"\u003cp\u003eTo mark the 200th anniversary of the composer's birth, the renowned Leipzig String Quartet presents a world premiere recording of the 5th String Quartet from Joachim Raff's much under-appreciated chamber music. In addition, the four musicians present the quartet op. 192, no. 2 with the epithet \"Schöne Müllerin\" - and whoever immediately thinks of Schubert is not wrong, but still on the wrong track. For unlike Schubert's, there seems to be no tragic ending in Raff's wanderer's fate, but a better one. Here, too, the young man falls in love with the miller's daughter, here, too, there is - as the title of the 4th movement reveals - \"unrest\", but after an \"explanation\" the work ends in the snappy \"Polterabend\" (wedding-eve party). Why Raff did not then also compose a wedding remains his secret...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile the \"Schöne Müllerin\" is laid out like a suite, the 5th string quartet follows the classical form. Raff had already broken away from Liszt's influence, and so the work is characterized by the extremely skillful treatment of the often catchy motifs. The fast second movement is remarkable, its familiar variations breathing Mendelssohnian esprit. Again and again, the Viennese three-fourths blossoms. Is this a reverence to Joseph Hellmesberger, the primarius of many Raff premieres? In any case, the Leipzig String Quartet's joy in this life-affirming music is clearly audible!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012600549610,"sku":"760623225524","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4136137-2901674.jpg?v=1778230254"},{"product_id":"haydn-string-quartets-vol-16","title":"Haydn: String Quartets, Vol. 16 \/ Leipzig String Quartet","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe LSQ celebrates Haydn's ideas with wit and charm as well as brilliance in the expansive solo passages which revive the hype of 1790s Vienna and London. This is Haydn at the height of his creative powers and a quartet to the highest performance standards. The natural, unobtrusive recording technique elevates these Classical masterpieces to their rightful pedestal.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012614770922,"sku":"760623227528","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4218732-3006767.jpg?v=1778264295"},{"product_id":"haydn-string-quartets-vol-18","title":"Haydn: String Quartets, Vol. 18","description":"Haydn's originality, wit and esprit are once again as impressive as the striking inventiveness and versatility of this highly acclaimed ensemble. If his opus one marks the birth of the genre, then opus 33 marks the rebirth, containing some of his most inspired and innovative music. Haydn skilfully plays with the listener's expectations by offering lots of surprising twists and the Leipzig String Quartet reveal and revel in the delights of Haydn's musical wit and invention.","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012650881258,"sku":"760623233321","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4384430-3290569.jpg?v=1778223143"},{"product_id":"haydn-string-quartets-vol-19","title":"Haydn: String Quartets, Vol. 19","description":"There is never a shortage of surprises with Joseph Haydn. The Leipzig String Quartet's latest instalment, Opus 2, of their benchmark complete recording of all Haydn's string quartets offers unexpected, unusual and always entertaining moments, presented with virtuosity and mastery by a quartet that combines curiosity and experience to create a delightful whole.","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012657762538,"sku":"760623234922","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4397897-3315108.jpg?v=1778201029"},{"product_id":"string-quartets-4","title":"STRING QUARTETS","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012871311594,"sku":"760623143026","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1128368.jpg?v=1778328504"},{"product_id":"haydn-string-quartets-vol-5-leipziger-streichquartett-122815","title":"Haydn: String Quartets, Vol. 5 \/ Leipziger Streichquartett","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eHAYDN \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eString Quartets, \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eop. 64\/3–5 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Leipzig Str Qrt \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e MDG GOLD 3071723 (66:51) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eHere is a disc, labeled as Vol. 5 of the Haydn quartets, that promises very great things for the rest of the series. The Leipzig Quartet’s playing has the same light, bright, and occasionally humorous sweep that one also hears in the recordings of the Daedalus Quartet (the op. 20 quartets as issued on Bridge 9326) and, if anything, MDG’s sound is even more clearly detailed. There’s not a single movement on this disc that disappoints; the quartet members, who appear to be in their mid-40s, have retained a youthful, zestful energy and enthusiasm for music-making that warms the heart as it makes you smile. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eMoreover, their musical style includes many subtle moments of rubato and an extraordinarily wide variety of dynamics. For a good example of their rubato style, sample the Menuetto of the op. 64 No. 3 quartet, where the subtle tempo shifts—combined with the composer’s own written \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eluftpausen\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e—tease the ear in a wonderful way. Sometimes their subtlety in dynamics may escape the inattentive listener, so alertness in hearing this CD is strongly recommended. This is not fluff playing, but rather the kind of performance that brings you deeper into the heart of the music. Based on this single disc, I would go so far as to recommend hearing virtually any of their Haydn quartet releases to date, which so far includes some op. 50 quartets (1, 4, and 5) on MDG 3071585 (which got a rave review in these pages from Burton Rothleder), op. 76 Nos. 2–4 on MDG 3071683 (a rave review on \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eMusic Web International\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e), the op. 20 quartets Nos. 2, 4, and 6 on MDG 3071706 (another good review from Rothleder), but oddly enough I can’t find Vol. 1 of this series on \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eeither\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e ArkivMusic or Amazon! (Maybe it hasn’t come out yet.) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eIn short, this is good stuff. If you don’t have these quartets in your collection, in performances you enjoy, go for it! \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Lynn René Bayley \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012923838698,"sku":"760623172323","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1959038.jpg?v=1778320251"},{"product_id":"v11-string-quartets","title":"V11: STRING QUARTETS","description":"Four Experts - it was with this headline that the press welcomed Vol. 10 of the encyclopedic Haydn series by the Leipzig String Quartet. Now the ensemble from Saxony doubles our pleasure with all six quartets from Opus 17 on the two CDs of this attractive box expanding our Haydn quartet horizons to include his earlier works. The result is uncommonly rewarding inasmuch as light is shed on a highly interesting developmental advance from divertimento mirth to mature chamber music and straight into the formative years of a revolutionarily new musical genre. For it was first through Joseph Haydn that the string quartet was crowned the king of chamber disciplines. Four instruments performing as equal partners but in different registers mean that the music has to focus on the essentials; no instrumental tricks might help it over possible compositional longueurs. But Haydn's music of course does not at all need such assistance. The ten years of experience that Haydn had gathered in this genre are heard in his Opus 17. The form is clearly more concentrated; instead of creating an entertaining medley of catchy melodies, he limits himself to a few themes from which he develops a movement or an entire quartet. The extraordinary skill of the instrumentalists available to him in Esterhaza inspired him to craft the sparkling passages that repeatedly flash across his scores. The absolutely great moments in this collection also include many a slow movement - for example, the Adagio from No. 3, which takes the listener into harmonically remote fields. In the careful hands of the four top musicians from Leipzig these rarely heard quartets develop a fascinating appeal that could not be more charming.","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012964831466,"sku":"760623214122","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3766080-2536224_863d459c-97c8-4a0e-8e35-96dc5f3b9e65.jpg?v=1778245211"},{"product_id":"string-quartets-7","title":"STRING QUARTETS","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013000450282,"sku":"760623177328","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2094695.jpg?v=1778313355"},{"product_id":"haydn-string-quartets-vol-4-leipzig-string-207272","title":"Haydn: String Quartets, Vol. 4 \/ Leipzig String Quartet","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eHAYDN \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eString Quartets: \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eop. 20\/2, 4, 6 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Leipzig Qrt \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e MDG 307 1706-2 (70:11) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eI was greatly impressed with the Leipzig String Quartet’s complete traversals of the Schubert and the Mendelssohn quartets, but I found (in a \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eFanfare\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e review not yet published at this writing) their approach to Haydn’s op. 76\/2–4 not at all to my liking. My complaints centered on choices of tempo, unwelcome embellishments, and lack of “conviction.” On the current disc, as on the op. 76 disc, the order of presentation is numerically reversed (6, 4, 2 and 4, 3, 2, respectively). \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eIn this op. 20 disc, tempos are reasonable, there are no objectionable embellishments (but there are some that I would prefer not be present), and the playing is everywhere convincing. All exposition repeats and development and recapitulation repeats are observed. A restrained vibrato is used that I find appropriate and pleasing. In a possible attempt to profit from studies of historically informed practices, occasional slight swells and attenuations are inserted, and this I find appealing. This is especially noticeable in the opening movement of No. 6. Most curious is the disregard of Haydn’s final fugal movement \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003esempre sotto voce\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e marking in Nos. 2 and 6. The result is a loudness that abandons the gossamer textures that are otherwise so appealing in these fugues. (S\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eempre sotto voce\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e appears in my Dover scores. Perhaps the Leipzig Quartet used a more recent and more authentic edition of these quartets.) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThere are some very positive aspects of these performances. The second movement of the second quartet (in C), a Capriccio that begins auspiciously in C Minor and leads to a \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ecantabile\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e in E?-Major, is played with a sardonic C Minor and an innocent E?-Major. No. 4 in D Major is notable for its D-Minor variations of the Adagio e affettuoso second movement and for the off-beat accents in the Menuet alla Zingarese third movement. These movements profit from exceptional interpretations by the Leipzigers. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eFor the present disc (and the op. 76 disc), the members of the quartet are Stefan Arzberger and Tilman Büning (violins), Ivo Bauer (viola), and Matthias Moosdorf (cello). For the Schubert and Mendelssohn disc sets, the first violin was Andreas Seidel. The result of this change in leadership may be the source of my observations. Although these quartets are better served by the Auryn Quartet and by the Lindsays, there are enough unique and attractive features here for a recommendation. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Burton Rothleder \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013036298474,"sku":"760623170626","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1899723.jpg?v=1778323604"},{"product_id":"haydn-string-quartets-vol-7-leipzig-string-156842","title":"Haydn: String Quartets Vol 7 \/ Leipzig String Quartet","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"All my strength is gone.\" Joseph Haydn wrote these words on the final page of his unfinished last string quartet. One can hardly believe him when one listens to this new release by the Leipzig String Quartet - and encounters a composer in full possession of his creative powers. There is nary a trace of the infirmity of old age or fading inspiration; rather, the master draws on all the rich experience of his long artistic life. \"I am old and weak\" - this self-quotation from his song \"Der Greis\" (The Old Man) seems to be pure irony.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013046161642,"sku":"760623186023","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2750415.jpg?v=1778289966"},{"product_id":"haydn-v13-string-quartets-leipziger-streichquartett-942746","title":"Haydn: V13: String Quartets \/ Leipziger Streichquartett","description":"\u003cp\u003eAfter long, thoroughly satisfying years of service at the Esterhazy court, Joseph Haydn was given a well-deserved retirement in 1790 - with an unusually handsome pension. The composer, who was in great demand throughout the world, used his new freedom to travel, especially to London, and to compose string quartets again. With the first of these \"Apponyi\" quartets, the Leipzig String Quartet continues its Haydn series and presents another remarkable milestone in the quartet repertoire. The quartets were virtually snatched out of Haydn's hands; Count Apponyi eventually secured exclusive rights for one year at a price of 100 gulden. Although popular with dilettantes, the Op. 74 quartets go beyond the limits of what can be performed by amateurs. The first violin in particular repeatedly attracts attention with virtuoso passages, but the other voices - just listen to the finale of the C major quartet - are also demanded to do a great deal. And Haydn remains true to himself: time and again he surprises players and listeners alike with irregular periods, inserted bars, sudden pauses... And there are echoes of folk music, such as drone surfaces or - in the B-flat major quartet - major\/minor changes, which evoke associations with Haydn's years-long stay in Hungary and are a pleasure to listen to. The G minor quartet is the only one of this group to bear a nickname: \"Reiterquartett\" Rider's refers to the lively finale, which the Leipzig musicians present with verve and delight in playing truly \"con brio\". But many a slow movement in this quartet trias also spoils the discerning listener: great, timeless music of which there can never be enough.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013053632746,"sku":"760623222424","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3992039-2860956_26985fb9-3ba6-4501-ab42-024c52a6cf94.jpg?v=1778231922"},{"product_id":"joachim-raff-chamber-music-vol-1-leipzig-397564","title":"Joachim Raff: Chamber Music, Vol. 1 \/ Leipzig String Quartet","description":"\u003cp\u003eJoachim Raff was an autodidact. Having grown up in Switzerland, he first tried his hand with moderate success in numerous places as a composer of salon pieces. Franz Liszt became aware of the young man's talents and hired him as a kind of private secretary. In Weimar Raff orchestrated some of Liszt's early symphonic poems and gained his appreciation. This first recording by the Leipzig String Quartet shows that this was no accident. Raff's first two quartets are large-format works which reveal great ambitions. By the time Raff composed his first quartet in 1855, he was already beginning to emancipate himself from Liszt and the narrow circle of his friends. The \"Neudeutsche Verein\" had just been founded when Raff left him for Wiesbaden, in financially uncertain circumstances but artistic independence. And indeed, Raff's music cannot be pigeonholed either in the \"New German\" or the \"Brahmsian\" category - perhaps the reason why he was admired by such diverse colleagues as Richard Strauss, Peter Tchaikovsky or even Franz Liszt. His first quartet op. 77 was premiered by the famous Hellmesberger Quartet, who had already offered the podium to Franz Schubert and the late Beethoven. The second quartet op. 90 was also quickly adopted by the Viennese. The turning away from a harmonically fixed formal scheme is a trend-setting move; chromaticism and free harmony gain the upper hand over schoolmasterly counterpoint. Self-marketing was not Raff's thing. Rather prim in his private life, he rarely performed publicly, though he was an excellent pianist. He also gave his work away rather than negotiate reasonable fees. As founding director of the Hoch'sche Conservatory in Frankfurt he nevertheless enjoyed great recognition among his contemporaries. To rekindle this in our time, the new recording of the Leipzig String Quartet is a highly welcome beginning.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013140861162,"sku":"760623218724","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3890419-2662589_3678903c-5c2a-49b8-b8c5-2d65c46fe766.jpg?v=1778257060"},{"product_id":"taneyev-piano-quintet-op-30-poems-op-195164","title":"Taneyev: Piano Quintet, Op. 30 \u0026 Poems, Op. 34 \/ Prudenskaya, Gollej, Leipzig Quartet","description":"Sergei Taneyev's Piano Quintet, op. 30 is as passionate as you could wish; it's a huge piece, lasting nearly 50 minutes. The first movement alone lasts nearly twenty. The idiom is late-Romantic, owing something to Brahms but to my mind it is much closer to César Franck, as it is as passionate a work as Franck’s piano quintet. A sombre, very chromatic opening leads to an anguished allegro. The themes are good. The piano writing is very rich, almost in concertante style, often in opposition to the strings as a group. The first movement is long and strenuous but varied in texture and with moments of relief. It builds to a tremendous climax at the beginning of the recapitulation with a pounding bass in the piano while the strings cry out over it. There is a stretto coda full of dark imaginings.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The scherzo is lighter in mood, featuring a theme of repeated notes. In contrast to the first movement the players here have to be light on their feet. The trio section is slower and features long, winding lines in the strings while the piano writing is less full, almost Mendelssohnian. We return to the opening music, if anything even faster than before.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The slow movement begins with a powerful theme in the bass which turns out to be that of a passacaglia, repeating under a melody which gradually takes shape above it, increasingly decorated. Apparently this is the first passacaglia in Russian music; it is certainly impressive.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The finale features a vivid theme in jagged rhythms and another with a soaring lyrical line. After a good deal of strenuous writing there is a very quiet passage. We return to more energetic writing before the close, with restless modulations suggesting a search for a conclusion which finally arrives with an evocation of the pealing of bells.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The coupling is a song-cycle, Taneyev’s last, which sets poems by Jakov Polonski (1819-1898) who is apparently highly regarded in Russia. These songs all deal with love, but my appreciation was hindered by the fact that they are sung in Russian, while the booklet gives them only in German, with neither the original Russian nor an English translation. While Olga Gollej does sterling work on the piano both here and in the quintet, Marina Prudenskaya, basically an operatic mezzo, indeed a Wagnerian, seems to have some difficulty fining her voice down to the scale needed for songs with piano. There is also a slight edge to her voice and a certain unsteadiness.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  There are no such reservations about the performance of the Piano Quintet. The Leipzig String Quartet is a well established group who apply themselves to Taneyev’s work with enthusiasm. The recording maintains a good balance between the piano and the strings, in an acoustic suggestive of a small concert hall. There are now several other versions of this work to choose from; however, if you want the songs, this is currently the only available recording, which might sway the balance for some listeners.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  – MusicWeb International (Stephen Barber)","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013166878954,"sku":"760623191720","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3297110.jpg?v=1778258421"},{"product_id":"janacek-string-quartet-no-1-2-dvorak-231277","title":"Janacek: String Quartet No 1 \u0026 2;  Dvorak: Cypresses \/ Leipzig String Quartet","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013171597546,"sku":"760623147222","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1469796_7ce84fc9-84a3-42ab-a3b9-3b4cc0a24ff9.jpg?v=1778337432"},{"product_id":"haydn-string-quartets-op-50-no-2-118752","title":"Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 50, No. 2, 3, 6  \/ Leipzig String Quartet","description":"The Leipzig String Quartet continues its Haydn edition with three more works from his op. 50, and once again the members magnificently succeed in combining classical perfection with surprisingly fresh esprit. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e For more than twenty years the Leipzig String Quartet has been playing in the Champions League of chamber music. Showered with prizes and awards, this world-class ensemble again and again has azzled listening audiences with their sensational recordings and concerts.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013217505514,"sku":"760623189826","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2862039_8bd0d859-597c-40cc-b3ac-5c02b9f1e212.jpg?v=1778288455"},{"product_id":"haydn-string-quartets-vol-3-op-76-192175","title":"Haydn: String Quartets, Vol. 3 - Op. 76 Nos. 2-4","description":"\u003cb\u003eClean, thoughtful, satisfyingly classical accounts.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The  \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunrise \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003emakes for a quiet, inward-looking and studious start to this CD. And you really appreciate the exposition repeat which allows you to get to grips with what it’s about. The first violin’s curvaceous ascent represents the sunrise. The first theme’s mellow consideration soon gives way to earnest activity, then back to the opening mood. The second theme mirrors the first but with the melody this time in the cello. In the development (tr. 1 4:19) the vigorous material becomes more spiky but what’s more attractive, and very well accomplished here by the Leipzig String Quartet, is the release of tension as the texture thins and the music eases into the recapitulation. I compared The Lindsays recorded in 1999 (ASV CDDCA 1077). Their opening is more affectionately inflected, their activity more animated, but the movement’s progression isn’t revealed with the sheer refinement shown by the Leipzigers. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The slow movement is a deep contemplation around a five note motif of which you are made clearly aware in the Leipzigers’ performance. Their presentation is plain but intent. The more searching, even rapt character of the second phase of the movement is satisfyingly revealed by the whole ensemble. Their understatement shows more warmth and inwardness than the more moulded but also self-conscious Lindsays. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  After this the Minuet is rather disarmingly jocular. The Leipzigers get across well the teasing quality of its tempo fluctuations though to a degree which makes the disruptions unduly gawky. The Trio has a rustic flavour to maintain such a mood, with its viola and cello drone over which the violins’ melody slides. But in its second section the viola is released to join the violins and your focus is switched to the sweetness and light of the first violin in upper register. The Lindsays’ more blatantly comic bounce in the Minuet blends better with a Trio that is at first still more feisty and assertive. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The finale, attractively presented by the Leipzigers with an easygoing blitheness, continues the later, sweeter mood of the Trio. Its increasingly faster, at first more feathery, closing section is trimly accomplished by the Leipzigers but you’re very much aware of it as a virtuoso technical display. The Lindsays are more provocative: they send up the first violin’s grace notes from the finale’s opening phrase and then float on the sustained notes. Their closing section begins nonchalantly and continues precisely etched. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The second quartet on this Leipzigers’ CD, the  \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEmperor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, is altogether different in manner. It’s direct, exuberantly forthright and uncomplicated. The Leipzigers begin it in chipper fashion. The sforzandos and lower parts are firmly projected and there’s more emphasis on ensemble than first violin dominance, its passages of semiquaver and demisemiquaver elaboration allowed just to wheel neatly above the rest. In the development (tr. 5 3:37) the sequences are presented with silvery tone before the theme is displayed in much more rugged manner as appropriate to the drone in viola and cello. The recapitulation is then an appreciated return to civil normality. It’s a pity the second half of the movement, unlike the first, isn’t repeated, especially because Haydn asks for the close, from 6:05 here, to be faster the second time, so you lose that adrenalin effect. The Lindsays (from 1998, ASV CDDCA 1076) do make the repeat and approach everything with more rigour and swagger. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The ‘Emperor’ (Austrian national anthem) theme of the slow movement (tr. 6) is stated calmly by the Leipzigers and gradually takes on more of the character of a formal dance. Variation 1 (1:04) offers a nicely rounded statement by the second violin and neat first violin filigree work above. Variation 2 (2:03) is treated as a lullaby, with the theme now in the cello and the first violin’s counter-play tender and sympathetic. In Variation 3 (3:00) the tune comes in the viola with denser involvement of the other parts but is still flexibly and companionably presented here. In Variation 4 (4:14) the tune is back in the first violin and more reflective in silky high register, sealing the whole presentation as a grateful homage. I prefer this to the more emotive Lindsays who for me become rather unctuous. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The Leipzigers’ Minuet is courtly, relaxed and attractive, but I feel the more rhythmic second part of both sections could skip more, as the Lindsays show. However, the Trio responds better to the Leipzigers’ understatement. It’s grave until transformed, even if only for a spell, from A minor to A major, like seeing the same person in different circumstances. In the Leipzigers’ finale you feel the rhetoric of the crotchet chords more than the shimmer of the quaver triplets, but these do later become more prominent. In the development (tr. 8 2:46) they cut across the melodic progress with more effect and things become more impetuous. The Leipzigers’ performance is finely proportioned but the Lindsays are more exciting. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The  \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFifths\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eis a great study in subversion. Its first movement begins rigorously enough but the consolatory brightness of its second theme (tr. 9 0:23) is what you prefer to remember. The development (3:24) sees a transformation and mellowing of the initial material at the same time as its opening four-note motif (the falling fifths in the first violin) becomes more significant as a unifying and steadying force. The Leipzigers are more refined and intellectual than the Lindsays’ more personal and passionate approach (ASV CDDCA 1076 recorded in 1999) which offers a sweeter yet somewhat less substantial second theme. The winsome slow movement spotlights a first violin melody and here the Leipzigers’ Stefan Arzberger manages to be both folksy and gracefully sophisticated where Peter Cropper for the Lindsays is more modest and unassuming. Arzberger is the more classical. The Minuet returns to D minor rigour but of a very odd kind as the first and second violins are stalked by the viola and cello three beats behind. As both are in their lower register the effect is rather that of a trailing double-bass. This is clearer and more disturbing in the Leipzigers’ account though it has less gusto than the Lindsays. The D major Trio places a Vivaldian succession of crotchet chords as a backcloth for a sweet and toying first violin solo. The Leipzigers bring out the toying aspect more whereas the Lindsays are more exciting in dynamic shading. In the D minor finale the subversive brightness is confined at first to the first violin’s leap of a fifth at the end of the first phrase but you know the theme is going to end up, satisfyingly and after a little sleight of hand in the development, in the major. All this is stylishly effected by the Leipzigers, again more classically than the Lindsays’ more cheeky first violin leap. They also sport a feistier development and more delicate and sweet major version of the theme. A good way to end a CD of clean, thoughtful, satisfyingly classical accounts. The playing is refined and precise; the recording has fine immediacy and presence. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  -- Michael Greenhalgh, MusicWeb International\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013279895786,"sku":"760623168326","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1813668.jpg?v=1778325518"},{"product_id":"gade-grieg-string-quartets-leipzig-string-quartet-138735","title":"Gade, Grieg: String Quartets \/ Leipzig String Quartet","description":"The Leipzig String Quartet sets out on yet another musical journey, and a genuine discovery is in store inasmuch as Niel Wilhelm Gade’s Quartet “Willkommen und Abschied” is being heard here for the first time in complete form. Since the Dane Gade, like Edvard Grieg, whose Quartet op. 27 is also part of this tour, had important musical roots in Leipzig, the journey also covers home turf.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  During the first half of the nineteenth century the string quartet was regarded as the embodiment of absolute music. It may seem to have been a rather bold move for a young composer for Gade to have used the literary source, Goethe’s poem “Willkommen und Abschied,” for his first string quartet.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Edvard Grieg studied under Gade in Copenhagen, where he developed ideas for his Nordic music like in his Quartet op. 27. The powerful introduction of the first movement already contains the famous “Grieg motif,” from which many themes derive. Grieg himself fueled speculations about its autobiographical connections by working with his “Spielmannslied”; his quartet is a top-class chamber event in this gripping interpretation by the members of the Leipzig String Quartet.","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013398417642,"sku":"760623187020","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2792120.jpg?v=1778185055"},{"product_id":"haydn-string-quartets-vol-9-op-20-231287","title":"Haydn: String Quartets, Vol. 9 - Op. 20 Nos. 1, 3, 5","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013399171306,"sku":"760623192529","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3054677.jpg?v=1778306359"},{"product_id":"v12-string-quartets","title":"V12: STRING QUARTETS","description":"The prolific Leipzig String Quartet completes Joseph Haydn's Opus 17 with the Quartets Nos. 2, 4, and 6 on what is now the twelfth volume of an extraordinary quartet cycle. Once again historically informed playing meets world-class quartet culture, and once again the Leipzig four demonstrate that Haydn's quartets were masterfully conceived from the very beginning and continue to deserve only the very best treatment. \"Reduction as a Principle\" would be a good title for Opus 17. But what richness! Haydn concentrates on only a very few themes and motifs; even in the first movements there is only one of them. How this then is elaborated is proof of the finest geniality. Here we find fragmentations, variations, omissions, and ramifications, and when Haydn develops the theme polyphonically and contrapuntally with itself in the first movement of No. 2, the composer almost grinningly presents his credentials as a genuine master in his field. This does not keep him from doing plenty of playing with the expectations of his listeners - for example, with the insertion of an uneven number of measures in an otherwise traditional minuet. The fact that the usual period of dance steps is brought to stumbling by the witty composer may startled listeners of his times out of their comfortability, but today not only experts delight in the Esterh�zy court composer's original ideas. For their Haydn edition the members of the Leipzig String Quartet use bows from the period during which the works were composed. This is noticeable in the smooth tonal delineation and supple articulation that may be said to make these fine works speak and shine. Once again a new chance for us to escape from modern restlessness for a few choice moments!","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013418143978,"sku":"760623214221","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3813494-2608180.jpg?v=1778245205"},{"product_id":"afanasiev-borodin-rachmaninov-rimsky-korsakov-string-quartets-231283","title":"Afanasiev, Borodin, Rachmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov: String Quartets \/ Leipzig String Quartet","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eRUSSIAN STRING QUARTETS \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Leipzig Str Qrt \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e MDG 307 1758-2 (76:56) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eAFANASIEV \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eString Quartet, \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e“Volga.” \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eRIMSKY-KORSAKOV \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eChorale and Variations. Fugue, \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e“In the Monastery.” \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eRACHMANINOFF \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eRomanze and Scherzo. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eBORODIN \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eString Quartet No. 2 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThis release couples three little-known works with one of the most familiar (and best) chamber works to emerge from 19th century Russia. In one case, the composer also is very obscure, although he enjoyed a long career and had some success during his lifetime. Nikolai Iakovlevich Afanasiev (1821-1898) received musical training from his violinist father but had no formal training in composition, none being available in Russia at the time. He performed as a violinist and conductor, including a stint as concert master of the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra. He is said to have written 12 string quartets, as well as symphonies, concertos, and several operas, including one based on the same Gogol story set by Tchaikovsky in \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eCherevichki\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e and Rimsky-Korsakov in \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eChristmas Eve\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, but much of his music remains unpublished. His “Volga” String Quartet was one of his most successful works, receiving a prize from the Russian Musical Society in 1860. Its use of Russian folk material guarantees a substantial level of melodic interest, but the attempts at thematic development seem tentative. The most pleasing of its four movements is unfortunately the shortest, the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eAllegretto\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e second movement, where engaging melody combines with lively, dance-like rhythm and the simple tripartite form doesn’t tax the composer’s technical abilities. In that movement there is a motif that is curiously similar to the one associated with the witch Ježibaba in Dvo?ák’s \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eRusalka\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, written 40 years later. Another melody strongly suggestive of Dvo?ák occurs in the final movement. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eAs I noted in my review of his 1897 Piano Trio (35:6), Rimsky-Korsakov didn’t think much of himself as a composer of chamber music, having concluded, after leaving that work unfinished, that “chamber music is not my area.” The two pieces on this disc date from an earlier period but suggest a similar discomfort with the chamber-music medium. Rimsky composed his String Quartet, No. 2, “On Russian Themes,” in 1878-79 but was dissatisfied with it and withheld it from publication. He subsequently reworked the first three movements into his \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSinfonietta on Russian Themes,\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e op. 31, leaving the fugal final movement, \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eIn the Monastery\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, as a stand-alone piece in its original form. The notes for this recording claim that he also reused the material from this movement in \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSadko\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, but I don’t hear anything that I recognize as being in that opera. I don’t know what the tempo marking is for this piece, but it sounds to me like it would benefit from a quicker pace than that employed by the Leipzig players. The other Rimsky piece, Chorale and Variations, dates from 1885 and lasts less than five minutes. It is another neobaroque exercise that may have been part of Rimsky’s self-instruction in compositional technique. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eUnlike Rimsky, Borodin and Rachmaninoff had a genuine affinity for chamber music, as is evidenced in Rachmaninoff’s case especially by his ravishing Cello Sonata. The two quartet movements offered here date from 1889, during the composer’s student years at the Moscow Conservatory. Even as a student, Rachmaninoff was capable of writing music of lasting value, for instance, his one-act opera \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eAleko\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e. The quartet movements, however, strike me as being more at the apprentice level. The sweetly lyrical, rather Tchaikovskian Romanze is pleasing if a bit repetitious. The Scherzo seems somewhat thin in terms of invention and development. The Leipzig performances are straightforward and matter-of-fact, perhaps too much so. More expressivity and shaping might make a better case for these pieces. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eI am quite taken, however, with the Leipzig players’ reading of Borodin’s familiar quartet, the one truly accomplished work on the disc. Here the balance among the instruments is finely judged, textures are clear, detail is firmly etched, and continuity of line is consistently maintained. Tempos are well integrated and for the most part firmly sustained, but with subtle application of rubato. The Leipzig players take a broader approach in the outer movements than the Borodin or Pražák Quartets (Chandos and Praga, respectively). After an unusually pensive, lyrical, and serene first movement, the Scherzo is quick but graceful. The famous Notturno flows appealingly at a tempo that seems ideal, and an expansive finale concludes the work in a manner consistent with the overall conception. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThis recording benefits from open and detailed sound, a realistic image, and an extended frequency range. The cello’s contributions register with gratifying solidity and impact. On my system at least, the sound can also be a touch abrasive at higher dynamic levels. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eI can recommend this release for its fine and distinctive performance of the Borodin work. In addition, it will be of interest to those wishing to explore the byways of Russian chamber music, although the other works are not of great significance. Other recordings exist of the Rimsky and Rachmaninoff pieces, but I haven’t heard them. Afanasiev is otherwise unrepresented in the catalog, and from a historical standpoint it is valuable to have him added to it. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Daniel Morrison \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013479092458,"sku":"760623175829","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2029043.jpg?v=1778305940"},{"product_id":"haydn-string-quartets-vol-21","title":"Haydn: String Quartets, Vol. 21","description":"With the three quartets of Op. 55, the Leipzig String Quartet brings Haydn's mature genius vividly to life. These works capture the composer at the peak of the Classical era, blending elegance, wit, and profound musical insight. In the Quartet's hands, every nuance and flourish shines, offering listeners an unforgettable journey through Haydn's timeless artistry.","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025290547434,"sku":"760623238524","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4488805-3517909.jpg?v=1778196134"},{"product_id":"schumann-piano-quintet-op-44-string-quartets-205703","title":"Schumann: Piano Quintet Op. 44, String Quartets Op. 41 \/ Zacharias, Leipzig Quartet","description":"\"Schumann [in the Piano Quintet] knew what he was writing for, and the balance among the strings with the piano is well-nigh perfect. The dark and burnished tone of the Leipzigers is perfectly suited to this piece, and their practiced and well-judged tempos only add to the desirability of this release. I have been recommending the Bernstein\/Juilliard as my benchmark, and I suppose that still stands, along with Argerich and the Takács\/Marc-André Hamelin on Hyperion. This release joins those distinguished efforts. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e And the good news continues. MDG advertises this as the first recording of the first two of the string quartets in the original version. Schumann made a lot of changes regarding dynamics, tempo, and even a number of excised passages after the first performances. But as the notes admit, the only authorized versions are the ones that included these changes, the composer again knowing exactly what he wanted when he embarked on the changes, tightening up the work and making it more cohesive. But the Leipzig Quartet decided that it would be worthwhile to record the first thoughts of the composer, and I think the decision is correct, even though hearing them in this form will not change any minds about the commonly accepted text. But what excites me is that I may have just found a modern-day equal to the Juilliard Quartet’s trend-setting version from the 1960s. The Leipzig is expressively superior and technically on par, while MDG’s recording greatly advances the depth and width of the soundstage. Well, let me calm down a moment—the Juilliard still plays the authorized version, and as such remains in top place. But these discs are just too good to pass, as playing like this demands an audience, and a frequently attending one at that. Want List qualifications definitely met.\" \u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cb\u003e FANFARE: Steven E. Ritter \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025383018730,"sku":"760623161020","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1638093.jpg?v=1778339003"},{"product_id":"haydn-string-quartets-vol-2-leipzig-quartet-191248","title":"Haydn: String Quartets Vol 2 \/ Leipzig Quartet","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eHAYDN \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eString Quartets: op. 50\/1, 4, 5 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12b\"\u003e•\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Leipzig String Quartet \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12b\"\u003e•\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e MDG 307 1585-2 (67:48) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eFrom the six string quartets of op. 20 (preceded by 31 string quartets) to the two of op. 77, there are 45 remarkable works (excluding the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSeven Last Words,\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e which itself is also remarkable) in this form from Haydn’s pen. My familiarity with these quartets began relatively late in life, leaving me with the ambivalence of regret for being so tardy and of thankfulness for not being too late. The six op. 50 quartets lie at about the 40-percent mark of the total 45, and the three offered here are in my view the most attractive of this group of six. All six, however (all 45, for that matter), are strongly attractive pieces—remarkable in invention, distinctiveness, and musicality. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eIn these performances, the Leipzig String Quartet uses moderately restrained vibrato and observes all repeats (except those in the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eda capos\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e). Both of these practices are important contributors to the success of these performances. The Leipzigs approach the music cautiously, sometimes soulfully, yet know to let loose when appropriate, for example, in the memorable Vivace final movements of No. 1 and No. 5. At all times, each of the four voices is discernable. While Haydn’s string quartet part-writing was not as consistently developed as Mozart’s, its importance remains. Haydn was more open than Mozart in his use of humor, and he was more daring than Mozart in resorting to unconventional keys; e.g., E? Minor in the second variation of the op. 50\/1 Adagio and F? Major to conclude the first movement and to begin the Menuetto of op. 50\/4 (which is in the un-Mozartean key of F? Minor, the slow movement of Mozart’s K 488 piano concerto notwithstanding). \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eIn competition, the Lindsays have recorded all 45 quartets in performances that excel in their verve and in the success of that group’s willingness to take chances in its interpretive approach, but intonation weakness is too often its principal failure. In its op. 50\/4, there is too much out-of-tune playing by the first violin to make it a competitor to the Leipzig performance of that quartet. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThe members of the 21-year-old Leipzig String Quartet on this disc are Stefan Arzberger and Tilman Büning (violins), Ivo Bauer (viola), and Matthias Moosdorf (cello). Three of its members were first chairs of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. The quartet has concertized throughout the U.S. as well as throughout the world. It has recorded the complete string quartets of Schubert and of other composers. I can only hope that a “complete” (op. 20 and above) Haydn would be one of its eventual goals. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThis is a Haydn quartet disc that I highly recommend. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Burton Rothleder \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025383739626,"sku":"760623158525","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1588250.jpg?v=1778324772"},{"product_id":"piano-quintet","title":"PIANO QUINTET","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025385443562,"sku":"760623121826","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/690667.jpg?v=1778346406"},{"product_id":"dvorak-string-quintet-op-77-string-quartet-141977","title":"Dvorak: String Quintet Op. 77; String Quartet Op. 96 \"american\" \/ Leipzig String Quartet","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players. Antonín Dvorák’s American String Quartet is a prime contender for a top slot on the all-time hit list of classical masterpieces – and rightly so, as this new recording by the Leipzig String Quartet demonstrates. Here it is heard along with the same composer’s magnificent String Quintet, and the outstanding bassist Alois Posch joins forces with the Leipzig musicians on what promises to be a favorite album for all chamber music fans. And such a program calls for the finest SACD sound.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46025388261610,"sku":"760623184760","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2516811.jpg?v=1778308559"},{"product_id":"string-quartets-5","title":"STRING QUARTETS","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025389441258,"sku":"760623149523","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1340557.jpg?v=1778328781"},{"product_id":"haydn-string-quartets-vol-6-leipziger-streichquartett-231285","title":"Haydn: String Quartets Vol. 6 \/ Leipziger Streichquartett","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eHAYDN \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eString Quartets,\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e op. 33\/1, 3, 5 \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Leipzig Str Qrt \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e MDG 3071812 (64:55) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eThe Leipzig Quartet is a group that subscribes to the historically-informed religion of straight tone; thus when this disc begins one hears the group playing a held chord that sounds a bit like cats whining. This impression never quite leaves one, but it does dissipate; as soon as the music changes you become aware that this group is really stylish. They understand phrasing and dynamics; nothing in these performances smacks of streamlining, of just rattling out the notes as quickly as possible to achieve maximum excitement. The modern proclivity towards “fast and furious” is not in their musical lexicon. As a result, these performances really speak to you. They have something interesting to say. Despite the persistent straight tone, they are truly lovely, suggesting at different times humor, elegance, melancholy or joy in turn. In short, I really liked these recordings. This is how I want my Haydn to sound (the straight tone excepted). \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eThis set is marked as Vol. 6 in an apparently ongoing series of Haydn quartets. I’d certainly be interested in hearing the other discs, particularly of the early quartets which are so often played in a flippant and uninteresting manner. I will refrain from saying, as the liner notes do, that they are “one of the most exciting string quartets” (thank goodness they didn’t add the tag line “of their generation”), because I do not equate outstanding artistic interpretive qualities with “excitement.” That belongs to those Italian HIP orchestras that play everything in a rattletrap, full-speed-ahead zip-a-de-doo-dah manner. The Leipzig Quartet is made up of \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003emusicians,\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e and that is more than enough for me. Highly recommended. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Lynn René Bayley \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025392849130,"sku":"760623181226","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2329668.jpg?v=1778313162"},{"product_id":"beethoven-sonatas-overtures-arr-string-quartet-64384","title":"Beethoven: Sonatas \u0026 Overtures Arr String Quartet","description":"\u003cp\u003eBeethoven’s Piano Sonata op. 106, the “Hammerklavier Sonata,” is regarded as the most complex and demanding piece among the complex and demanding works from his late period. It was not until Franz Liszt, decades after Beethoven’s death, that a pianist was able to master this sonata’s madcap technical challenges. The version for string quartet prepared by David Plylar, a curator at the Library of Congress, was initially intended as a guide through the structural thicket of this gigantic opus. In this rendering by the Leipzig String Quartet, however, it also turns out to be an extremely revealing expansion of our musical horizons. The extended polyphonic passages quite naturally profit from the new opportunities offered by ensemble playing: the canon at the beginning of the development section in the first movement or the mighty fugue in the finale. Beethoven calls for the use of all eighty-eight piano keys, which at the time was a sensational demand. The extreme registers are also represented in the quartet version. Only a top ensemble like the Leipzig String Quartet has the magic and mastery it takes to bring its gigantic leaps, flageolet chords, and intricate harmonic relations to the concert stage. Two transcriptions by Beethoven’s contemporary enrich the program. Along with the Gewandhaus violist Peter Michael Borck, the quartet members present Beethoven’s third attempt to write an overture for his opera Leonore. At the very latest when Borck reaches for the famous offstage trumpet, the last skeptic will become a firm believer in the quintet’s symphonic qualities. The considerably trimmer final version of the Fidelio overture impressively rounds off this extraordinary project.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025474605290,"sku":"760623207223","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3544910-2473995.jpg?v=1778258442"},{"product_id":"string-quartets-kv-428-464","title":"STRING QUARTETS KV 428 \u0026 464","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025474932970,"sku":"760623116020","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/501096.jpg?v=1778188705"},{"product_id":"seven-last-words","title":"SEVEN LAST WORDS","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46025475260650,"sku":"760623155067","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1490972.jpg?v=1778288393"},{"product_id":"german-folk-songs-1","title":"GERMAN FOLK SONGS","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025494331626,"sku":"760623167923","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1855341.jpg?v=1778325998"},{"product_id":"string-quartets-op-131-135","title":"STRING QUARTETS OP. 131 \u0026 135","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025552134378,"sku":"760623082028","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/229616.jpg?v=1778185245"},{"product_id":"widmann-string-quartet-no-1-5-leipzig-231280","title":"Widmann: String Quartet No 1 - 5 \/ Leipzig String Quartet, Juliane Banse","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eWIDMANN \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eString Quartets: No. 1; No. 2,\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e “Choral Quartet”; \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eNo. 3,\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e “Hunting Quartet”; \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eNo. 4; No. 5,\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e “Attempt at the Fugue”\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12b\"\u003e•\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Leipzig Str Qrt; Juliane Banse (sop)\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12b\"\u003e•\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e MDG 307 1531 (76:44) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eBorn in 1973, Jörg Widmann has two careers: as a clarinetist, he teaches at the Freiburg College of Music, performs regularly, and has recorded music by Beethoven, Brahms, Harald Genzmer, and Wolfgang Rihm; as a composer who studied under Rihm, Wilfried Hiller, and Hans Werner Henze, his works are piling up European prizes with remarkable frequency. In the latter role, Widmann exhibits an interesting postmodern (if that word still has any relevance) conceptualism. These five compact, one-movement string quartets, for example, though composed over a period of years (1997–2005), when combined suggest the macro-structure of a single quartet—that is, the individual quartets serve the function of an “introduction,” “largo,” “scherzo,” “andante\/passacaglia,” and “finale: quasi-fugue,” respectively. Whether or not Widmann had this scheme in mind from the very beginning is hard to say, but there is internal evidence that unifies and enhances their relationship, thematically and dramatically. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eOne of the conceptual features of Widmann’s music is a fluid blending of historical sounds and styles. The Quartet No. 3, for instance, takes its nickname from the familiar “hunting” rhythm adapted, in this case, from one of Robert Schumann’s \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePapillons\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, which gradually unravels into a more contemporary fabric of melodic fragments and disrupted rhythms (Widmann calls it “splinterizing” and “skeletalizing” the form). Quartet No. 2 is a reflection on death influenced by Haydn’s\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003e Seven Last Words of Christ\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e; some of the sparse music is recognizable (mournful chords that could be direct quotes) and some indistinct (non-pitched timbral effects), but the effect, while engaging, is more scene painting than movement towards a musical or emotional resolution. The Quartet No. 4 offers a walking bass line and ascending and descending patterns along with chiaroscuro textures; the sounds grow more mysterious as they drift away from the passacaglia’s theme, being somewhat reminiscent of George Rochberg’s interplay of harmonic references in his string quartets. The Quartet No. 5, longest of the sequence and the only one with a vocal component \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eà la\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Schoenberg’s Second Quartet, deconstructs fugal strategies into episodes of contrasting shapes and tempos, offering close echoes of (if not actual quotes from) the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eGrosse Fugue\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eArt of Fugue\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e. As for No. 1, it rises from silence with small Webernesque gestures, turns vigorous and frisky, is interrupted by silences, but builds to a convincing conclusion. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eWidmann’s quartets are attractive, thought provoking, and well conceived, and I believe they actually work better when heard together as a connected entity than standing alone, where the occasional missteps, such as the clichéd shouts in No. 3 and the familiarity of material in No. 5, would be isolated and magnified. The benefit of having them on a single disc is the ability to choose which way \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eyou’d\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e like to experience them. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Art Lange \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025552265450,"sku":"760623153124","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1433409.jpg?v=1778330012"},{"product_id":"beethoven-string-quartets-op-127-132-leipzig-104409","title":"Beethoven: String Quartets Op 127 \u0026 132 \/ Leipzig Quartet","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025552920810,"sku":"760623085425","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/409861_82b909d0-ed87-4a2b-9a84-c799db7d2346.jpg?v=1778343026"},{"product_id":"v1-complete-string-quartets","title":"V1: COMPLETE STRING QUARTETS","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025556787434,"sku":"760623060125","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/144741.jpg?v=1778185203"},{"product_id":"v4-complete-string-quartets","title":"V4: COMPLETE STRING QUARTETS","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025568092394,"sku":"760623060422","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/144744.jpg?v=1778185023"},{"product_id":"berg-complete-string-quartets-webern-3-pieces-156766","title":"Berg: Complete String Quartets;  Webern: 3 Pieces","description":"\u003cimg src=\"\/graphics\/p10s10.gif\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Ninety-one years and a turn of century later, Alban Berg's String Quartet Op. 3 no longer shocks as it once did, but rather sounds more and more like an accessible piece of finely wrought chamber music. That's not to say it contains stretches of \"Hum-um-umable melody\" (to quote Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along), but with careful and repeated listening the ear discerns motifs and harmonic patterns where formerly there seemed naught but noise. Such revelations are greatly aided by the Leipzig String Quartet's generously romantic approach both to this and to the Lyric Suite. Its warm legato and passionate phrasing humanize and romanticize Berg's highly personal masterpieces, both created in connection with love affairs. This is in marked contrast to the Galimir Quartet's strident and angular performances on Vanguard, which place Berg more firmly in the epoch of the Second Viennese School. But the Leipzigers are capable of much fierce energy too, especially in the more explosive moments of the Lyric Suite, which they play with fearless alacrity.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The disc also includes Webern's brief (even for him) Three Pieces for String Quartet, featuring the ethereal singing of Christiane Oelze in the second piece, a setting of one of the composer's poems. At two minutes and ten seconds, it's over before you realize it, but even the much longer Berg works have this effect, thanks to the stunning Leipzig Quartet performances, recorded in top-drawer sound by MDG.\u003cbr\u003e --Victor Carr Jr., ClassicsToday.com","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025569206506,"sku":"760623099620","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/341138.jpg?v=1778185187"},{"product_id":"string-quartets-op-103-133","title":"STRING QUARTETS OP. 103 \u0026 133","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025601089770,"sku":"760623085128","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1066721.jpg?v=1778336947"},{"product_id":"mendelssohn-complete-string-quartets-vol-3-leipzig-231272","title":"Mendelssohn: Complete String Quartets Vol 3 \/Leipzig Quartet","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025601679594,"sku":"760623105628","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/575853.jpg?v=1778185285"},{"product_id":"v7-complete-string-quartets","title":"V7: COMPLETE STRING QUARTETS","description":"Classical Music","brand":"MDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025616195818,"sku":"760623060729","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/194255.jpg?v=1778185019"},{"product_id":"e-schulhoff-concertos-845221051970","title":"E. Schulhoff: Concertos","description":"\"•Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942), one of the most important Czech artists in the first half of the 20th century, came into contact with the Dadaists in Dresden after WWI. \n • For artists scarred by war, Dadaism reflected their attitude towards life which found expression in word and image as glaring derision, scorn and shameless provocation. In this climate, Schulhoff discovered American jazz. \n • The Piano Concerto, WV 66 is a wild blend of Impressionist, late-Romantic and jazz-inspired sounds and rhythms.\"","brand":"Capriccio","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025944203498,"sku":"845221051970","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2565732.jpg?v=1778296865"}],"url":"https:\/\/arkivmusic.com\/collections\/leipziger-streichquartett.oembed?page=2","provider":"ArkivMusic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}