- String Quartets, Op. 18
This collection of quartets represents Beethoven’s earliest successes in chamber music. When he went to Vienna to study with Mozart and Haydn, Beethoven knew very well in whose footsteps he was following. And these works are a testimony to why this music has survived since Beethoven’s death in 1827. We hear the following: Beethoven: String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 18 No. 1 String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 18 No. 2 String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 18 No. 3 String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18 No. 4 String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op. 18 No. 5 String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op. 18 No. 6 Performed by the Jerusalem Quartet. In 1801, after completing the compositions of the six Opus 18 quartets, Beethoven wrote: “Only now have I learned how to write quartets properly” As early as these works are, they already display much boldness and originality in many of the movements. The Jerusalem Quartet was founded in 1993; and 2001 the quartet received an award as BBC’s New Generation Artists. Then in 2003 it was the recipient of the first Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. The Quartet is very grateful to Daniel Barenboim who generously loans Jacqueline du Pré‘s ‘Sergio Perresson’ cello to Cellist Kyril Zlotnikov. Here is Jerusalem Quartet playing the Brahms, String Quartet Op. 51 No. 1: https://youtu.be/1lClVkzF8Ic And here is the Arcadia Quartet peforming the Beethoven Op. 18, no. 4: https://youtu.be/Ppi2EpwjbZI Tags: Jerusalem String Quartet, Beethoven, Opus 18, Jacqueline du Pré, Kyril Zlotnikov
