Verdi - Sibelius Vertavo String Quartet

• Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901): String Quartet in E Minor:
• 1 String Quartet in E Minor: I. Allegro 07:53
• 2 String Quartet in E Minor: II. Andantino 07:30
• 3 String Quartet in E Minor: III. Prestissimo 03:13
• 4 String Quartet in E Minor: IV. Scherzo fuga. Allegro assai mosso 04:23
• Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957): String Quartet, Op. 56 "Voces intimae":
• 5 String Quartet, Op. 56 "Voces intimae": I. Andante – Allegro molto moderato 06:39
• 6 String Quartet, Op. 56 "Voces intimae": II. Vivace 02:32
• 7 String Quartet, Op. 56 "Voces intimae": III. Adagio di molto 10:44
• 8 String Quartet, Op. 56 "Voces intimae": IV. Allegretto (ma pesante) 05:13
• 9 String Quartet, Op. 56 "Voces intimae": V. Allegro 05:44
• Total Runtime 53:51

Info zu Verdi - Sibelius

With the obvious exception of Mozart, the most famous operatic composers were not at all prolific in the spheres of the symphony, string quartet or sonata.

These genres are traditionally associated with sonata form, a disciplined structure requiring an entirely different approach. Verdi is a typical case, a natural man of the theatre who composed about thirty operas, and who is not immediately associated with instrumental forms.

Verdi completed his only string quartet in 1873 – i.e. roughly the period of Aida and the Requiem. Unsure of its value, he delayed publication until three years later. He remarked drily: “I don’t know whether it is good or bad, only that it is a quartet.” With astonishing modesty, he claimed to have composed it “merely for amusement”. He also laid himself open to criticism that the piece may be less than idiomatic when he welcomed the plan to perform the work in London with twenty players to a part – “since there are certain passages which require a fuller sonority than a mere quartet can furnish”. One might gather from his diffidence that the piece is unpretentious, but it is so much more than a mere diversion from writing operas. While Verdi does not attempt to emulate the rigorous developmental processes exercised by the great quartet composers, he does create on his own terms a highly individual and satisfying work distinguished by abundant craftsmanship.

Tchaikovsky is a similar example, demonstrating his German-influenced contrapuntal skill when he chooses (as does Verdi in his fugal finale), but otherwise relying on his more instinctive gifts of melody, elegance and felicitous scoring.

During his earliest creative period Sibelius was strongly attracted to chamber music. The list of his juvenilia includes a piano quintet, four piano trios and about twenty works for string quartet, some incomplete. It is all the more surprising, therefore, that he composed and published only a single string quartet in his maturity.

Sibelius composed his only major string quartet, entitled Voces Intimae, between late 1908 and April 1909, though his first sketches date from as early as 1899–1903. At the time of the work’s completion he had only recently suffered from a throat tumour which he believed to be lifethreatening, but which proved benign.

As biographer Erik Tawaststjerna writes “both Voces Intimae and the Fourth Symphony [1910–11] reflect his inner life during the years immediately after the operation when he had passed through the shadow of the valley of death.” Following medical advice, in order to try to avoid a recurrence of the tumour, Sibelius reluctantly abstained from alcohol and tobacco for seven years, an interval which his wife Aino described as the happiest time of her life.

Vertavo String Quartet

Vertavo String Quartet
is internationally recognised as one of the most masterful string quartets playing today. Since their formation in Norway in 1984, their dynamic and deeply thoughtful performances have captivated audiences. In June 2005, the quartet was honoured with the Grieg-Prize: a prize bestowed on artists of high international standing and whose former recipients include Leif Ove Andsnes, Truls Mørk and the Grieg Trio. Just ten years previously in 1995 they had won First Prize at the 2nd Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition where they were also awarded the Audience prize and the Critics' prize.

Vertavo now play at all the major concert venues in the world. They tour extensively throughout Europe and also in Japan and the US. Their last US tour included performances at Stanford Lively Arts, Chamber Music in Napa Valley and Lincoln Center. In the past years, tours and concerts have also taken them to Norway, Spain, Mexico, Sweden, Poland, the US and the UK. They gave concerts at Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Barbican, London; Kings Place, London and in last year's celebration of Benjamin Britten' s centenary, Vertavo were invited to play at the Aldeburgh Festival 2013.

Collaboration also plays an integral role in the Vertavo Quartet's concert life; they have formed partnerships with Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Leif Ove Andsnes, Lambert Orkis, Steven Kovacevich, Håkan Hardenberger, Martin Fröst, Sabine Meyer, Isabelle van Keulen. In 2015 they undertook a quintet tour with the renowned British pianist Paul Lewis.

The quartet's discography is a diverse one and includes Schumann, Brahms, Grieg, Debussy, Bartok, Nielsen, Asheim, "Les Vendredis" (Russian vignettes of the turn of the 20th century) all for SIMAX Classics, as well as the Mozart clarinet quintet with Martin Fröst for BIS Records. Their Debussy and Grieg recording received the Diapason d'Or. Their most recent SIMAX release is of Beethoven's Op.130 and Op.133.

Vertavo have always had a great affinity for contemporary music. They have given commanding performances of works by Ligeti, Adès, Widmann, Gabriela Frank and works by contemporary Nordic composers such as Nørgård, Edlund and Asheim. In March 2013 to great critical acclaim, they gave the world premiere of Poul Ruders's 4th String Quartet at a major festival of Danish and Finnish composers at the Barbican Hall in London: "Played with a thrilling iron-fist-in-velvet-glove touch by the Vertavo Quartet, it was a miracle of stylistic light-footedness." The Telegraph March 2013.

Vertavo Quartet are Artistic Directors of Vertavofestivalen held annually in Norway.

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