Arnold Schönberg: String Quartet No. 3, Scherzo, Presto, Chamber Symphony Prazak Quartet & Jaromir Klepac

• Arnold Schönberg (1874 - 1951): Scherzo, for String Quartet in F Major:
• 1 Schönberg: Scherzo, for String Quartet in F Major 07:28
• Presto, for String Quartet in C Major:
• 2 Schönberg: Presto, for String Quartet in C Major 06:50
• Chamber Symphony, Op. 9 (Transcription for Piano and String Quartet by Anton Webern):
• 3 Schönberg: Chamber Symphony, Op. 9 (Transcription for Piano and String Quartet by Anton Webern): I. Sonata-allegro - II. Scherzo - III. Durchfuhrung - IV. Adagio - V. Recapitulation - Finale 20:28
• String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30:
• 4 Schönberg: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30: I. Moderato 08:32
• 5 Schönberg: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30: II. Adagio 08:04
• 6 Schönberg: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30: III. Intermezzo. Allegro moderato 06:51
• 7 Schönberg: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30: IV. Rondo. Molto moderato 06:11
• Total Runtime 01:04:24

Info for Arnold Schönberg: String Quartet No. 3, Scherzo, Presto, Chamber Symphony

The fifth volume devoted to Schönberg’s chamber music. On display here is writing that, after being based on traditional models (youthful Scherzo and Presto), evolves towards a melodic density and clarity of counterpoint making the Chamber Symphony, Op.9 (1906) accomplished and radiant as much in its chamber transcriptions as in the versions for full orchestra. The Quartet No.3 (1926) achieves a masterful balance between rhythm and harmony, melody and counterpoint, horizontality and verticality. All these processes blend in an original art of the continuous variation. By blurring the formal aspect, the PRAŽÁKs make him the heir of other Viennese: Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms… and Beethoven.

"Schoenberg’s Third Quartet was among the first works he composed using exclusively dodecaphonic techniques. The shimmering cool and textural hypersensitivity of the LaSalle Quartet (originally Deutsche Grammophon, now available in a Brilliant Classics set) encapsulates the work’s disembodied suspension of reality, whereas the Pražák musicians play up the associations with Brahms’s op.51 quartets, emphasising the composer’s use of rhythm as a principal binding agent. In so doing they discover a warmth and communicability that in this particular work one might have scarcely thought possible.

The Chamber Symphony’s exhilarating amalgam of searing propulsion, bracing tonal interplay and structural concision belongs to the same sonata-hybrid tradition as Beethoven’s ‘Serioso’ String Quartet in F minor op.95. Using Webern’s arrangement for standard piano quintet, the Pražák Quartet (with Jaromír Klepác?) plays with such imperative communicability and fiery virtuosity that one senses the symphony’s profound compression more than ever. This is music that lives on the edge and the Pražák players ride the musical precipice every inch of the way. The early Brahms–cum–Dvor?ák Scherzo and Presto are miniature charmers that on the evidence of these sparklingly affectionate readings should be far better known. A revelatory set of performances, presented in exemplary sound of illuminating detail." (thestrad.com)

Pražák Quartet
Jaromír Klepác, piano

Digitally remastered

The Pražák Quartet
one of today’s leading international chamber music ensembles - was established in 1972 while its members were students at the Prague Conservatory, and won major chamber music prizes early on, including first prize at the prestigious Evian String Quartet Competition, along with a special recording prize from Radio France. Since then, the quartet has gained attention for its place in the unique Czech quartet tradition, and for its musical virtuosity.

For more than 30 years, the Prazak Quartet has been at home on music stages worldwide. They are regular guests in the major European musical capitals such as Prague, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Milan, Madrid, London, Berlin, and Munich, and have been invited to participate at numerous international festivals, where they have collaborated with such artists as Menahem Pressler, Jon Nakamatsu, Cynthia Phelps, Roberto Diaz, Josef Suk, and Sharon Kam.

The quartet has toured widely in North America, having performed in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Washington, Philadelphia, Toronto, Montreal and many others. The quartet returns to the US and Canada every other year.

The Prazak Quartet has recorded extensively for Praga/Harmonia Mundi which, to date, has released 50 award-winning CDs. In addition to numerous radio recordings in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic, the Prazak Quartet has also made recordings for Supraphon, Panton, Orfeo, Ottavo, Bonton, and Nuova Era.

As of 2020, violinist Marie Fuxová and cellist Jonáš Krejčí joined the quartet. The new members bring their extensive string quartet and chamber music experience, having played with the Pavel Haas, Škampa, Petersen and Schulhoff quartets as well as in many chamber orchestras and ensembles. They bring their experience and energy into the group while remaining faithful to the Czech quartet tradition, character and quality which are the longtime hallmarks of the Pražák Quartet. A new CD with the last string quartets of Josef Haydn will be released on the Aparté/Praga label in August 2021.

Booklet for Arnold Schönberg: String Quartet No. 3, Scherzo, Presto, Chamber Symphony