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Martinu: String Quartets No 3 And 6, Etc / Martinu Quartet

Naxos

$19.99 Nov 01, 2002

This second installment in Naxos' ongoing series of the complete Martinu quartets confirms the favorable impression made by Volume 1. String Quartet No. 3 is a brief work rich in timbral effects (col legno, trills, pizzicato) that strikingly recalls Schulhoff's First Quartet from the same period (1920s), and it receives an excellent performance featuring remarkably clean rhythms in the tricky outer movements. Quartet No. 6 comes from 1946, and it clearly reveals its affinity to the style of the symphonies that Martinu composed at the same time. Indeed, its opening is almost a transcription of the first pages of the Third Symphony, while the slow movement alternates dreamy moments of pure texture with simple, folk-like themes, a concept Martinu also employs in the celebrated late Nonet.

Here the playing doesn't have quite the polish that the Panocha Quartet brings to the music (on Supraphon), but it's still a very good performance, and the same holds true of the fillers: the charming Duet for Violin and Cello, and the zesty and quite substantial Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola, a masterpiece of its type. The very clear, close sonics capture every nuance but steal a bit of the music's atmosphere. Fortunately the Martinu Quartet's high standards easily withstand the scrutiny. [1/16/2003]
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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Martinu: String Quartets No 3 And 6, Etc / Martinu Quartet
Naxos Nov 2002
CD
$19.99

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Berkeley: String Quartets No 1-3 / Maggini Quartet
Naxos Dec 2007
CD
~~$19.99~~ $13.99

Maw: String Quartet No. 3 - Britten: String Quartet No. 3
SOMM Recordings Feb 2007
CD
$20.99

String Quartets Nos. 1-3
Naxos Aug 2009
CD
$19.99

Haydn: String Quartets Vol 2 / Leipzig Quartet

MDG

$23.99 Oct 01, 2009

HAYDN String Quartets: op. 50/1, 4, 5 • Leipzig String Quartet • MDG 307 1585-2 (67:48)

From 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 Seven Last Words, 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.

In these performances, the Leipzig String Quartet uses moderately restrained vibrato and observes all repeats (except those in the da capos ). 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).

In 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.

The 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.

This is a Haydn quartet disc that I highly recommend.

FANFARE: Burton Rothleder

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Haydn: String Quartets Vol 2 / Leipzig Quartet
MDG Oct 2009
CD
$23.99

Robert Saxton: String Quartets 3 & 4, Sonata for Solo Violin

Metier

$18.99 May 23, 2025

Reflections in Time brings together three major works by Robert Saxton which push the expressive and structural boundaries of the string quartet and solo violin. Performed by the renowned Kreutzer Quartet and violinist Peter Sheppard Skaerved, this album beautifully illustrates Saxton's ability to fuse intellectual rigor with deeply evocative musical storytelling. String Quartet No. 3 (2009) unfolds in five intricately woven movements, charting a course through cyclical forms and shifting modal landscapes. A work of compelling contrast, it moves from the meditative austerity of Winter Light to the driving energy of Dance, before closing with Continuing Journey, a movement that dissolves into the very resonance of it's own beginning. The Sonata for Solo Violin, Reflections in Time (2023), written for and inspired by Skaerved's artwork, is a profound exploration of symmetry, memory, and transformation. Saxton constructs a sonic world where melodic gestures mirror and refract, capturing the essence of time's fluidity. With a structure reminiscent of the palindromic forms found in Bach and Berg, the work challenges perceptions of musical motion, forging an organic connection between sound and visual art. String Quartet No. 4 (2023) is a meditation on creation and renewal, mapping an ascent through seven movements, each tied to a symbolic pitch cycle. From the opening Wavebreak, evoking the birth of sound and motion, to the final movement, Daybreak, which resonates with echoes of all that preceded it, the quartet embodies a vast temporal and harmonic journey. It's centerpiece, "... The dancing will never be done... ," is an urgent and restless dance, framed by introspective movements that contemplate the passage of time and human experience. Saxton's music is defined by it's meticulous craftsmanship and philosophical depth. In Reflections in Time, his long-standing collaboration with the Kreutzer Quartet and Sheppard Skaerved reaches new heights, producing performances that are as precise as they are impassioned. This recording offers a vital addition to the contemporary string repertoire, appealing to listeners attuned to the intellectual and emotional possibilities of modern chamber music.

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Robert Saxton: String Quartets 3 & 4, Sonata for Solo Violin
Metier May 2025
CD
$18.99

Korngold: String Quartets 2 & 3 / Alma Quartet [Vinyl]

Challenge Classics

Vinyl

$37.99 Nov 19, 2021

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) was a genius. Naturally he was most widely known and rewarded as one of the founding composers of Hollywood film music, but he is not a particularly well-known composer in the classical music world. His three string quartets are surely masterpieces and can be seen as modern tone poems imbued with beautiful melancholy and Viennese charm. A child prodigy, Korngold wrote some of the most heart-wrenching melodies, which are sure to leave any listener longing for more. His String Quartet No. 2, Op. 26 (1933) was written just before Korngold moved to Hollywood and is full of musical imagery of Vienna, with gestures towards the waltzes of Johan Strauss II as well as the intricate lyricism of Richard Strauss. A fierce anti-serialist, Korngold was determined that it was still possible to stretch the boundaries of tonality without adapting to the 12-tone technique. The String Quartet No. 3, Op. 34 (1945) is full of themes that he used in his film scores and was written when Korngold was suffering from deep depression. The quartet is much darker. Why did we choose to tackle Korngold’s music for this unique project of a direct-to-disc recording on vinyl? The music resonates deeply with us, as it represents the epitome of late romanticism and lyrical expression. We all have a profound love for romantic music and after listening to some recordings of his quartets we knew instantly these were the perfect fit for us. It was definitely a challenge to understand the idiom in Korngold’s writing. Our individual personalities as well as the Alma sound is clearly audible.

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Korngold: String Quartets 2 & 3 / Alma Quartet [Vinyl]
Challenge Classics Nov 2021
Vinyl
$37.99

Complete String Quartets
Kontrapunkt Jan 1990
CD
$41.99

Reinecke: Complete String Quartets

CPO

$36.99 Apr 12, 2019

Five string quartets by Carl Reinecke from all the phases of his career, from it's beginnings to his old age, are extant. He himself played the first violin in his father's quartet and in this way very early became acquainted with an extensive quartet repertoire. When he began composing his first quartet, he not only was familiar with the contributions to this genre by Mozart and Beethoven but also knew Schumann's brand new Quartets op. 41. Reinecke pays homage to Schumann's music in particular in the lyrical moments of his Quartet No. 2. He composed the Quartets Nos. 3 and 4 during his years as the conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra. No. 3 surprises us with it's expansive key plans, which also make us sit up and take notice in his subsequent quartets and undermine the cliché of a epigone who rigidly adhered to convention and academism. In his last contribution to the genre, the Quartet No. 5, he remains true to his style. This work perhaps sounds somewhat less like Schumann and somewhat more like Brahms, whose music Reinecke very much admired.

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Reinecke: Complete String Quartets
CPO Apr 2019
CD
$36.99

Shostakovich: String Quartets, Vol. 3

Brilliant Classics

$12.99 ~~$16.99~~ Save 25% Oct 11, 2024

With this latest volume in their ongoing cycle, recorded in 2023, the Quartetto Nous passes the halfway mark of Shostakovich's 15 quartets. The previous instalments have been recognised and praised for their full-blooded intensity and uncompromising address to the detail of these absorbing scores. The present album returns almost to the start of Shostakovich's quartet cycle, with a piece which he claimed (perhaps as a joke) he had originally written as his Second Quartet, before adding a piano part to make it a Piano Quintet with which he could tour and earn much-needed income. At any rate, the Piano Quintet took shape in 1940 and soon became one of his most popular pieces of chamber music: less radical in form and harmony than most of his quartet writing, more extrovert in mood, and more approachable. The Second Quartet proper was composed in 1944, soon after the Leningrad Symphony which had won the composer international celebrity. Yet the two works exemplify the contrast in style between Shostakovich's 'public' and 'private' works. The Waltz of the Second Quartet is one of the most extraordinary examples of his ability to transform instrumental writing into a kind of nightmare factory. Having begun in a determined A major, the Quartet closes in a much more equivocal minor. The Fourth Quartet of 1949 likewise sets out in an almost folksy D major, working in elements of Yiddish melodies, and it's skies gradually cloud over during the four movements, until the sadness of the second movement and the vitality of the third fuse to produce the violent, wailing and screaming tones of a danse macabre in the complex finale. By the time of the Sixth Quartet, written in 1955, Shostakovich had become a practised exponent of double-edged rhetoric, of music which wears a happy face while twisting it's hands in anxiety or even agony. The serene light of G major bathes the initial Allegretto, but there are signs of grief, perhaps occasioned by the recent death of his wife Nina, scattered throughout the composition. The Quartetto Nous (from the Greek: intellect, mind, but also inspiration, creative capacity), has established itself among the most interesting musical Italian ensembles of it's generation, giving captivating interpretations in which the Italian tradition of string-playing merges with other significant European schools such as the Musik Akademie in Basel (where they studied with Rainer Schmidt of the Hagen Quartett), and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena (Gunter Pichler of the Alban Berg Quartett). Winner, among other awards, of the Farulli Prize in the Abbiati competition, the most prestigious award of Italian music criticism, the Quartetto Nous demonstrate their individual approach to music spanning the quartet repertoire, and in ambitious contexts such as playing from memory and totally in the dark. - The new installment of the complete String Quartets by Shostakovich played by Quartetto Nous brings together the quartets 2, 4 and 6, as well as the impressive and moving piano quintet. - Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) is without doubt one of the most famous and influential composers of 20th century Russia. He lived in a time of Soviet repression and, though outwardly a loyal communist, he resented the restrictions imposed by the regime on his creativity. This led to a fascinating duality between conformism and the expression of his most innermost feelings, fears and anger. - Shostakovich's 15 String Quartets form an impressive body which follows the development of his style throughout his life. They are the testimony of a tortured soul struggling to remain true to himself, expressed in anguish and bleakness, but also in serenity and bliss. - Quartetto Nous, formed in 2011, has established itself in a short time as one of the most interesting chamber music ensembles of it's generation. It's immersive performances are the result of a professional training where the Italian tradition and the most influential European schools are combined. The quartet studied with the Quartetto di Cremona at the Accademia Walter Stauffer in Cremona, at the Basel Musik Akademie with Rainer Schmidt (Hagen Quartet), at the Escuela Superior de Música 'Reina Sofia' in Madrid and at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena with Gunter Pichler (Alban Berg Quartet) and at the Lubeck Musikhochschule with Heime Muller (Artemis Quartet). - The first volume of the Shostakovich Quartets by Quartetto Nous for Brilliant Classics was hailed enthusiastically by the press. Musicweb writes:" This is one of the best as it left me in awe of the breadth as well as the intensity of Shostakovich's genius, RECORDING OF THE MONTH".

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Shostakovich: String Quartets, Vol. 3
Brilliant Classics Oct 2024
CD
~~$16.99~~ $12.99

STRING QUARTETS 3 & 15
Globe Records Aug 2002
CD
$18.99

Scene Glazunov: String Quartets And Quintets Vol 3 / Sterling, Utrecht String Quartet
MDG Aug 2008
CD
$20.99

Haydn: String Quartets Op, 17, 33 & 54 / Bennewitz Quartet

Supraphon

$29.99 Jun 09, 2023

During the 18th century, the string quartet gained the position of the most valued and most challenging chamber music genre, and gradually became a vehicle for conveying the composer’s personal feelings. Joseph Haydn played a key role in forging the quartet’s classical form. He created almost 70 string quartets, which, along with the symphonies, constitute the largest, as well as the most significant, part of his oeuvre. Haydn accorded them the form that would serve as the model for Mozart, Beethoven, and later composers. Just as fascinating as the quantity is his quartets’ sheer diversity, with each of them being singular, featuring novel (often humorous) ideas, experiments, as well as constant seeking of new possibilities of expression.

The three quartets included on the present album chart the development of Haydn’s musical idiom, from Op. 17 (1771), which he wrote at the age of 40, through Op. 33, dubbed “Gli Scherzi” (1781, dedicated to the Grand Duke of Russia Pavel Petrovich, the future Tsar Paul I), to the formally experimental pieces making up Op. 54 (1788). The Bennewitz Quartet have given numerous concerts worldwide, including at the most prestigious venues (Wigmore Hall in London, Musikverein in Vienna, Konzerthaus in Berlin, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, concert halls in New York, Seoul, etc.) and such renowned festivals as the Salzburger Festspiele, Lucerne Festival and Rheingau Musik Festival. At many of them, they have performed quartets by Haydn, one of their favourite composers, whose music they endow with a transparent sound, revealing their levity and sense for detail. The Bennewitz Quartet – at home with Haydn

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Haydn: String Quartets Op, 17, 33 & 54 / Bennewitz Quartet
Supraphon Jun 2023
CD
$29.99

N. MIASKOVSKY - COMPLETE STRING QUARTETS 3
NORTHERN FLOWERS Oct 2016
CD
$16.36

String Quartets Nos. 2-4

Ars Produktion

$20.99 Apr 04, 2025

On this CD Fabian Muller presents his String Quartets Nos. 2-4, superbly recorded by the Swiss Galatea Quartet. Each of the three quartets from the years 2010 to 2011 reveals a unique tonal language that is equally inspired by Swiss traditions and timeless themes. An extraordinary chamber music experience with an unmistakably Swiss character.

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String Quartets Nos. 2-4
Ars Produktion Apr 2025
CD
$20.99

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STRING QUARTETS
Avie Records Mar 2013
CD
~~$19.99~~ $9.99

BLACKWOOD: String Quartet Nos. 1-3
Cedille Jan 2000
CD
$19.99

Mozart: String Quartets Nos. 16, 17, "Hunt", 21, "Prussian N
Berlin Classics Mar 2012
CD
$18.99

Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 3
Intim Musik Jun 1997
CD
$18.99

Marchesi & Schubert: The String Quartets Project, Vol. 3

Haenssler Classic

$15.99 ~~$20.99~~ Save 25% Oct 04, 2024

Schubert Vol. 3 Looking ahead to 2028 and the 200th anniversary of the composer's death, the Alinde Quartet will annually release a disc of Schubert string quartets for the next eight years, alongside a specially commissioned work. Finding the ideal sound world for Schubert's quartets is by no means easy, yet the Alinde strikes a near-ideal balance between internal clarity and textural warmth, shone through by sparkling intonation.

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Marchesi & Schubert: The String Quartets Project, Vol. 3
Haenssler Classic Oct 2024
CD
~~$20.99~~ $15.99

Laks: String Quartets Nos. 3-5

DUX

$21.99 Jul 21, 2017

Szymon Laks - the number 49543 in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, was an outstanding composer, violinist, writer, a passionate linguist and translator, admitted that it was music that saved his life: in the extermination camp where he was from 1942 to 1944, he was a kapellmeister, musician, and copyist of the male orchestra. It was also there that he arranged and performed together with instrumentalists-prisoners Three Warsaw Polonaises by an unknown author from the 18th century for a chamber orchestra. They were found by accident and published by the Polish Music Publishing House already in 1950 and became the first published camp music literature. The Messages Quartet, established in 2014, focuses on 20th and 21st century Polish music, particularly promoting the works that are still being discovered and are rarely performed. The name of the ensemble refers to the famous String Quartet No. 2 "Messages" by Andrzej Panufnik. The Messages Quartet was created in the year of the 100th anniversary of Panufnik's birthday- 2014. The musicians of the Quartet are graduates of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and the Academy of Music in Krakow. They also graduated from the solo studies and from masterclasses at European universities. Apart from the concert activity, they also dedicate themselves to teaching at the Academy of Music in Katowice and Krakow.

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Laks: String Quartets Nos. 3-5
DUX Jul 2017
CD
$21.99

Titz: String Quartets For The Imperial Court Of St. Petersburg Vol 3 / Hoffmeister Quartet

Profil

$10.99 Apr 27, 2010

Just a few repeat listening sessions leave me with the indelible impression that we are dealing with some of the most agreeable music of its kind and of its time—all the more notable given the truly great string quartets that have been written and published by his much more famous contemporaries. -- Jens F. Laurson, FANFARE [reviewing Volume 2 of this series]

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Titz: String Quartets For The Imperial Court Of St. Petersburg Vol 3 / Hoffmeister Quartet
Profil Apr 2010
CD
$10.99

Paganini: Quartets for Strings & Guitar, Vol. 3

Dynamic

$18.99 Apr 21, 2023

Many Paganini scholars consider the quartets with guitar to be among his finest chamber works. The care Paganini took in their composition is documented in numerous letters asking the opinion of his friend Luigi Germi, to whom Quartet No. 10 is dedicated. The Quartets, Op. 4 and Op. 5 with their almost playful eccentricities and freedoms show the composer trying out a variety of forms and variations on convention, all with his typically virtuoso and lyrical touch. Volume 2 of this edition (CDS7938) was admired for its ‘crisp and elegant sensibility’ in BBC Music Magazine.

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Paganini: Quartets for Strings & Guitar, Vol. 3
Dynamic Apr 2023
CD
$18.99

Aho: String Quartets Nos. 1 - 3

BIS

SACD with CD

$21.99 Jan 03, 2025

Finnish composer Kalevi Aho has produced a considerable and varied body of work that continues to grow rapidly. Aho first tackled the genre of string quartet at the very beginning of his composing career, more than fifty years ago, and has only recently returned to it. Aho was only 18 when he completed his String Quartet No. 1 in 1967. Self-taught at the time, Aho took his inspiration from the essentially tonal music he played on the violin or heard on the radio. The Second Quartet was composed in 1970, during his second year of studies at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with Einojuhani Rautavaara and uses fugue technique in each of it's movements. The first performance of the quartet received excellent reviews and marked a minor breakthrough for Aho as a composer. The Third Quartet dates from the following year and marks the end of Aho's studies with Rautavaara. In this work Aho's personal language begins to emerge, although the influence of Shostakovich can also be heard. The work was a great success and has been performed more often than any of his other chamber compositions. The three string quartets are performed here by the Stenhammar Quartet, one of Scandinavia's leading string quartets, whose extensive repertoire gives prominence to contemporary music from the Nordic countries.

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Aho: String Quartets Nos. 1 - 3
BIS Jan 2025
SACD with CD
$21.99

Mozart: The Last String Quartets / Juilliard String Quartet

Sony Masterworks

$24.99 Sep 01, 2010

"The quartets Nos. 21, 22, and 23 were composed by Mozart with the hope of a dedication to King William of Prussia. The king was a cellist, and Mozart lovingly favors the cello in these quartets of supreme craftsmanship." - Herbert Russcol

[Quartet No. 23 in F Major, K. 590] "...makes an exciting culmination to them all, in Mozart's most mature handling of the style...The composer ends his adventures in the string quartet at the very top of his bent." - John Burk, Mozart and his Music

"Though CBS in its latter days of independence reissued the Juilliard Quartet’s recordings of the last Schubert String Quartets on a mid-price 2-CD set, re-reissued by Sony on SB2K89978, neither they nor their present owners Sony/BMG ever released these Mozart recordings on CD, to the best of my knowledge, perhaps because there is such strong competition in the Mozart, not least from the Quartetto Italiano and Amadeus Quartet in recordings of much the same vintage. With those stylish Italian recordings currently unavailable, however, either as part of their 8-CD collection of all the Mozart Quartets, singly, or on Philips Duo, except as downloads or from ArkivMusic, and the Amadeus as a box set only, it makes excellent sense to reissue the Juilliard recordings...If you are looking for a 2-CD set of the last four quartets, the ArkivMusik reissue of the Juilliards makes an obvious recommendation. There’s a detailed booklet with some useful analyses of the music and the recording has worn well." -- MusicWeb International

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Mozart: The Last String Quartets / Juilliard String Quartet
Sony Masterworks Sep 2010
CD
$24.99