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Mendelssohn: String Quartets, Vol. 1 / Doric String Quartet
Chandos

Mendelssohn: String Quartets, Vol. 1 / Doric String Quartet

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Details

Composer
MENDELSSOHN, FELIX
Artist
DORIC STRING QUARTET
Format
CD
Label
Chandos
Released
Sep 07, 2018
Catalog #
CHAN 20122(2)
UPC
095115212226

About

Alongside its ongoing and much lauded Haydn and Schubert series, both on-stage and on-record, the Doric String Quartet with this Mendelssohn album is adding a new milestone in its repertoire. Mendelssohn wrote and published these three quartets at very different stages in his life and they therefore outline the complete trajectory of his creative output. The early Op. 12, also called No. 1, was composed in London and includes many musical allusions to Beethoven, dead only a few years before its composition. These subtly contrast with Mendelssohn’s genially flowing energy. While Op. 44 No. 3, which incorporates many deft variations, developments, and combinations, follows an extended honeymoon tour and Mendelssohn’s twenty-ninth birthday, Op. 80 emerged from a bout of helpless depression after the sudden death of Mendelssohn’s older sister and confidante, Fanny. Mendelssohn described this quartet as a Requiem, and the nervous agitation often found in his music here bursts forth with full force. Resignation, agitation, and nostalgia shape the work, the almost shocking finality of which may be said to prefigure Mendelssohn’s own death only six months later.

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REVIEW:

Op. 44/3 is the longest of the quartets, and the outer movements can sometimes come across as prolix. The Doric’s performance steers clear of this trap – again through the controlled variety and technical ease of their music-making – as well as tripping the light fantastic in the scherzo, and laying bare the emotional ambiguity of the Adagio. I look forward to Volume 2.

– BBC Music Magazine

Tracklist 12 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 I. Adagio non troppo - Allegro non tardante 07:30
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Adagio non troppo - Allegro non tardante
    Duration
    07:30
    Composer
    Felix Mendelssohn
    Ensemble
    Doric String Quartet
  3. 2 II. Canzonetta: Allegretto - Più mosso 04:03
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Canzonetta: Allegretto - Più mosso
    Duration
    04:03
    Composer
    Felix Mendelssohn
    Ensemble
    Doric String Quartet
  4. 3 III. Andante espressivo - 04:17
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Andante espressivo -
    Duration
    04:17
    Composer
    Felix Mendelssohn
    Ensemble
    Doric String Quartet
  5. 4 IV. Molto allegro e vivace 08:04
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Molto allegro e vivace
    Duration
    08:04
    Composer
    Felix Mendelssohn
    Ensemble
    Doric String Quartet
  6. 5 I. Allegro vivace assai 07:40
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. Allegro vivace assai
    Duration
    07:40
    Composer
    Felix Mendelssohn
    Ensemble
    Doric String Quartet
  7. 6 II. Allegro assai 05:58
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Allegro assai
    Duration
    05:58
    Composer
    Felix Mendelssohn
    Ensemble
    Doric String Quartet
  8. 7 III. Adagio 08:02
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Adagio
    Duration
    08:02
    Composer
    Felix Mendelssohn
    Ensemble
    Doric String Quartet
  9. 8 IV. Finale: Allegro molto 05:55
    Track
    8
    Title
    IV. Finale: Allegro molto
    Duration
    05:55
    Composer
    Felix Mendelssohn
    Ensemble
    Doric String Quartet
  10. Disc 2
  11. 1 I. Allegro vivace 12:28
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Allegro vivace
    Duration
    12:28
    Composer
    Felix Mendelssohn
    Ensemble
    Doric String Quartet
  12. 2 II. Scherzo: Assai leggiero vivace 04:04
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Scherzo: Assai leggiero vivace
    Duration
    04:04
    Composer
    Felix Mendelssohn
    Ensemble
    Doric String Quartet
  13. 3 III. Adagio non troppo 09:26
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Adagio non troppo
    Duration
    09:26
    Composer
    Felix Mendelssohn
    Ensemble
    Doric String Quartet
  14. 4 IV. Molto Allegro con fuoco 08:21
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Molto Allegro con fuoco
    Duration
    08:21
    Composer
    Felix Mendelssohn
    Ensemble
    Doric String Quartet