Debussy: String Quartet & Sonatas The Nash Ensemble

• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, CD 87:
• 1 Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, CD 87 (Arr. Walter for Ensemble) 08:45
• Violin Sonata in G Minor, CD 148:
• 2 Debussy: Violin Sonata in G Minor, CD 148: I. Allegro vivo 05:16
• 3 Debussy: Violin Sonata in G Minor, CD 148: II. Intermède. Fantasque et léger 04:15
• 4 Debussy: Violin Sonata in G Minor, CD 148: III. Finale. Très animé 04:27
• Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp, CD 145:
• 5 Debussy: Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp, CD 145: I. Pastorale. Lento, dolce rubato 06:39
• 6 Debussy: Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp, CD 145: II. Interlude. Tempo di minuetto 05:48
• 7 Debussy: Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp, CD 145: III. Finale. Allegro moderato ma risoluto 04:45
• Cello Sonata in D Minor, CD 144:
• 8 Debussy: Cello Sonata in D Minor, CD 144: I. Prologue. Lent, sostenuto et molto risoluto 04:42
• 9 Debussy: Cello Sonata in D Minor, CD 144: II. Sérénade. Modérément animé 03:16
• 10 Debussy: Cello Sonata in D Minor, CD 144: III. Finale. Animé, léger et nerveux 03:48
• String Quartet in G Minor, CD 91:
• 11 Debussy: String Quartet in G Minor, CD 91: I. Animé et très décidé 06:23
• 12 Debussy: String Quartet in G Minor, CD 91: II. Scherzo. Assez vif et bien rythmé 03:46
• 13 Debussy: String Quartet in G Minor, CD 91: III. Andantino, doucement expressif 07:24
• 14 Debussy: String Quartet in G Minor, CD 91: IV. Très modéré – Très mouvementé – Très animé 07:12
• Total Runtime 01:16:26

Info for Debussy: String Quartet & Sonatas

From two players to twelve: few ensembles could respond with equal authority to the very varied demands made by this wonderful collection of Debussy's chamber music. But then, few ensembles can stand comparison with the Nash Ensemble, whose members continue to set the standards across a dauntingly wide repertoire. A realization of the Prélude à l'après-midi... for chamber ensemble adds to this album's more familiar attractions of the string quartet and three sonatas.

The Nash Ensemble:
Benjamin Nabarro, violin
Jonathan Stone, violin
Lars Anders Tomter, viola
Adrian Brendel, cello

The Nash Ensemble
The Nash Ensemble Resident Chamber Ensemble at London’s Wigmore Hall, is regarded as a standard-bearer of British music-making, and has been acclaimed by The Independent as a ‘chamber music group beyond compare’. The Nash Ensemble has built up a remarkable reputation as one of Britain’s finest ensembles and, through the dedication of its founder and artistic director Amelia Freedman and the calibre of its players, has gained a similar reputation all over the world. The repertoire is vast and the imaginative, innovative and unusual programmes are as finely architectured as the beautiful Nash terraces in London from which the group takes its name. The Nash Ensemble is not classically restricted; it performs with equal sensitivity and musicality works from Mozart to the avant-garde. Indeed, it is one of the major contributors towards the recognition and promotion of many leading composers, the group having premiered over 320 new works by 225 different composers, including 224 commissions written specially for the ensemble, thereby providing a legacy for generations to come.

An impressive collection of recordings illustrates the same varied and colourful combination of classical masterpieces, little-known neglected gems and important contemporary works. Notable recordings for Hyperion include a series of works by British composers of the first half of the twentieth century; string quintets by Mozart, Brahms, Bruch and Beethoven; works by Czech composers incarcerated in the Theresienstadt concentration camp between 1941 and 1945; and chamber works by Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann, as well as Max Bruch and Ferdinand Ries.

The Nash has made many foreign tours; concerts have been given throughout Europe, the USA and Canada. The group is a regular visitor to many European and British music festivals, and can be heard on radio, television, at the BBC Proms, and at music clubs throughout the country. Since 1979 it has presented a celebrated series every season at Wigmore Hall exploring the many facets of the chamber music repertoire.

The ensemble won The Edinburgh Festival Critics’ music award ‘for general artistic excellence’, and in 1990 and 2003 The Royal Philharmonic Society’s small ensemble award ‘for the breadth of its taste and its immaculate performance of a wide range of music’.

Booklet for Debussy: String Quartet & Sonatas