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Janacek: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2 / New Zealand String Quartet
Naxos

Janacek: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2 / New Zealand String Quartet

$19.99

Details

Composer
JANACEK, LEOS
Artist
NEW ZEALAND STRING QUARTET
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Feb 12, 2021
Catalog #
8574209
UPC
747313420971

About

Janácek’s final decade saw an almost unprecedented creative renewal during which he wrote some of his greatest works. Among them were his chamber music masterpieces, the two String Quartets. The first was inspired by Tolstoy’s novella The Kreutzer Sonata, a torrid tale of adultery and murder to which Janácek responded with music of increasingly frenzied passion. The second was subtitled Intimate Letters, a freely evolving work full of yearning and amorous defiance. originally cast for four violins, the two youthful Sonnets date from 1875 and balance the archaisms of the first with the lyricism of the second.

REVIEW:

The scores of the quartets are liberally sprinkled with changes of tempi and dynamics, and nowhere are those more important than when capturing the mood of the ‘story’ being told in the opening two movements of the First Quartet. Maybe recordings from Slovak quartets are the most successful in making those moments really startling, but the New Zealanders offer very well prepared performances, full of well judged nuances, and suitably suave when required in the Second Quartet. There they question, without resolution, the contents of the letters, with undiluted searing moments of pain. In summary, with the impeccable balance between instruments, and squeaky clean intonation, these are among my recommended performances on disc.

– David's Review corner (David Denton)

Tracklist 10 tracks

  1. 1 I. Adagio - Con moto 04:02
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Adagio - Con moto
    Duration
    04:02
    Composer
    Leoš Janáček
    Ensemble
    New Zealand String Quartet
  2. 2 II. Con moto 04:17
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Con moto
    Duration
    04:17
    Composer
    Leoš Janáček
    Ensemble
    New Zealand String Quartet
  3. 3 III. Con moto - Vivo - Andante 04:02
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Con moto - Vivo - Andante
    Duration
    04:02
    Composer
    Leoš Janáček
    Ensemble
    New Zealand String Quartet
  4. 4 IV. Con moto 05:13
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Con moto
    Duration
    05:13
    Composer
    Leoš Janáček
    Ensemble
    New Zealand String Quartet
  5. 5 I. Andante 05:57
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. Andante
    Duration
    05:57
    Composer
    Leoš Janáček
    Ensemble
    New Zealand String Quartet
  6. 6 II. Adagio 05:53
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Adagio
    Duration
    05:53
    Composer
    Leoš Janáček
    Ensemble
    New Zealand String Quartet
  7. 7 III. Moderato 05:32
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Moderato
    Duration
    05:32
    Composer
    Leoš Janáček
    Ensemble
    New Zealand String Quartet
  8. 8 IV. Allegro - Andante - Adagio 08:14
    Track
    8
    Title
    IV. Allegro - Andante - Adagio
    Duration
    08:14
    Composer
    Leoš Janáček
    Ensemble
    New Zealand String Quartet
  9. 9 Znělka (Sonnet) in D Minor, JW VII/2 (arr. R. Gjelsten for string quartet) 02:27
    Track
    9
    Title
    Znělka (Sonnet) in D Minor, JW VII/2 (arr. R. Gjelsten for string quartet)
    Duration
    02:27
    Composer
    Leoš Janáček
    Ensemble
    New Zealand String Quartet
  10. 10 Znělka (Sonnet) in A Major, JW VII/1 (arr. R. Gjelsten for string quartet) 02:22
    Track
    10
    Title
    Znělka (Sonnet) in A Major, JW VII/1 (arr. R. Gjelsten for string quartet)
    Duration
    02:22
    Composer
    Leoš Janáček
    Ensemble
    New Zealand String Quartet