Beethoven: String Quartets Op. 74 & Op. 130 Chiaroscuro Quartet

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, Op. 74:
• 1Beethoven: String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, Op. 74: I. Poco adagio - Allegro09:38
• 2Beethoven: String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, Op. 74: II. Adagio ma non troppo09:06
• 3Beethoven: String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, Op. 74: III. Presto - Più presto quasi prestissimo - Tempo I04:57
• 4Beethoven: String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, Op. 74: IV. Allegretto con variazioni06:02
• String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130:
• 5Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130: I. Adagio ma non troppo - Allegro13:30
• 6Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130: II. Presto02:14
• 7Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130: III. Andante con moto ma non troppo06:51
• 8Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130: IV. Alla danza tedesca03:13
• 9Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130: V. Cavatina05:57
• 10Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130: VI. Finale09:38
• Total Runtime01:11:06

Info for Beethoven: String Quartets Op. 74 & Op. 130

After the six Op. 18 quartets, the much-acclaimed Chiaroscuro Quartet now turns to two masterpieces from Beethoven’s middle and late periods. String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, Op. 74, nicknamed ‘Harp’ because of the abundant pizzicati in its first movement, comes across as a genial and unproblematic work that was very well received immediately upon publication and has remained one of the composer’s best-loved quartets. String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130, is in a very different vein. Belonging to the series of so-called ‘late’ quartets composed between 1824 and 1826, it is a six-movement structure modelled on an eighteenth-century divertimento, adding two movements to the traditional four-movement scheme: an Alla danza tedesca and a Cavatina. Despite its evocation of an archaic dance, the Alla danza tedesca is typically Beethovenian, with its original treatment of dynamics. The Cavatina, which moved the composer to tears during its composition, is a lyrical and moving piece. Beethoven had intended to conclude this imposing work with a large-scale fugue, but its boldness baffled his first listeners and, at the request of his publisher, he resorted instead to a more approachable movement presenting a mixture of laconic dryness and, in places, tender lyricism.

Chiaroscuro Quartet

Chiaroscuro Quartet
Formed in 2005, the Chiaroscuro Quartet performs music of the Classical period with historical instruments and approach.

Recently the quartet played their first concert at the Edinburgh International Festival followed by their debut in Germany as part of the Festival Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Highlights in the past took the young ensemble to London's Wigmore Hall, York Early Music Centre, The Sage Gateshead (recorded for BBC Radio 3), Auditorium du Louvre Paris, Théâtre du Jeu-de-Paume in Aix-en-Provence, Grand Théâtre de Dijon, Gulbenkian Foundation Lisbon and a residency in Aldeburgh.

Following the critically acclaimed release of their first album in September 2011, the Chiaroscuro Quartet released its second recording for the French label Aparté in April 2013. The CD including Beethoven's Quartetto serioso, Mozart's Quartet K. 428 and Adagio and Fugue K. 546 received four out of four possible f in the French magazine Télérama and was given the best note for its interpretation in Germany's major magazine for chamber music Ensemble.

In the coming months the quartet will return to the BBC Radio 3 for a lunchtime concert in London and appear on stage of the Nikolaisaal Potsdam and Kunstverein Wiesloch. Concerts in the Netherlands (Concertgebouw Amsterdam), Belgium (Ghent, Handelsbeurs Concertzaal), France (Clermont-Ferrand and Pau) and Spain (Madrid and Bilbao) are scheduled for early 2014.

Since 2009 the Quartet has held a residency at Port-Royal-des-Champs dedicated to Mozart's quartets.

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