Beethoven String Quartets Op.18/5, 18/3, 135
Performed by the Artemis Quartet
To this day, when I listen to the Beethoven string quartet Op. 135, I am still struck by the musical innovation, the amazing harmonies, and the strong rhythms that Beethoven employed as a forecast of what composers were going to do many years later.
The Artemis Quartet members are a skilled group of musicians, and they achieve excellent results in their blend, unanimity, intonation, and precision. Their style features sleekness of sound and modern tone qualities which allies it to a more European sense of tradition, such as is produced by the Hagen Quartet.
The two early Op. 18 quartets are light, bright, and sparkling; the Op. 135 is given the serious, darker, more weighty role that it rightfully deserves.
The CD tracks are:
1. String Quartet No.5 in A Major Op.18 No.5: I. Allegro
2. String Quartet No.5 in A Major Op.18 No.5: II. Menuetto & Trio
3. String Quartet No.5 in A Major Op.18 No.5: III. Andante cantabile
4. String Quartet No.5 in A Major Op.18 No.5: IV. Allegro
5. String Quartet No.3 in D Major Op.18 No.3: I. Allegro
6. String Quartet No.3 in D Major Op.18 No.3: II. Andante con moto
7. String Quartet No.3 in D Major Op.18 No.3: III. Allegro
8. String Quartet No.3 in D Major Op.18 No.3: IV. Presto
9. String Quartet No.16 in F major ‘Muss es sein? es muss sein!’ Op.135: I. Allegretto
10. String Quartet No.16 in F major ‘Muss es sein? es muss sein!’ Op.135: II. Vivace
11. String Quartet No.16 in F major ‘Muss es sein? es muss sein!’ Op.135: III. Lento assai e cantante tranquillo
12. String Quartet No.16 in F major ‘Muss es sein? es muss sein!’ Op.135: IV. Grave ma non troppo tratto – Allegro
Here is the Artemis Quartet in Beethoven String Quartets
And here they are, performing Beethoven’s Op.135 “Lento assai, cantante & tranquillo”
Tags: Artemis Quartet, Beethoven, Op. 18, Op. 135