Listening to Hagen’s magic
There are times when I remember an older DVD, and I pull it off the shelf to enjoy it once again. On Thursday afternoon, April 4th, I listened to an old favorite, the Hagen Quartet, a group of players who have achieved mastery of the quartet genre, in my view.
The first work they performed is the last completed string quartet of Beethoven, the Quartet #16, Op. 135. So here are master performers, playing music by a legendary composer.
The core of this piece is the third movement, which Beethoven titled “Lento assai, cantate e tranquillo”. This is music that is hymn-like, quiet, and soothing. And yes, the players performed it in a singing and tranquil manner, as the title requires.
It is a good sign when I find the music so soothing that I catch up on some badly-needed sleep, as I did during this performance. The slow movement of the Beethoven, and the Larghetto of the Mozart produced these great restful naps.
Here are the pieces on this DVD:
Beethoven:
- String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135
Mozart:
- Clarinet Quintet in A major, K581
Weber:
- Clarinet Quintet in B flat major, Op. 34, J182
Performed by the Hagen Quartet, with Sabine Meyer (clarinet)
The Hagen Quartet has also recorded Ravel’s String Quartet in F major and Schubert’s String Quartet in D minor, and these are intensely beautiful, as well. See the second photo on the left for that DVD cover photo.
Here are members of the Hagen Quartet performing the Maurice Ravel String Quartet in F – Allegro moderato
And next here they are doing the Schubert String Quartet No 14 D 810 D minor ‘Death and the Maiden’ (Second violin player a long time ago was Annette Bik):
http://youtu.be/Fv6c22-XSvY
Tags: Hagen Quartet, Beethoven, Mozart, Sabine Meyer, Schubert, Ravel