Beethoven: The Middle Quartets Arianna String Quartet

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827):
• 1String Quartet No. 7 in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1: I. Allegro10:55
• 2String Quartet No. 7 in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1: II. Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando09:17
• 3String Quartet No. 7 in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1: III. Adagio molto e mesto13:24
• 4String Quartet No. 7 in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1: IV. Thème russe. Allegro08:19
• 5String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2: I. Allegro09:36
• 6String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2: II. Molto adagio13:14
• 7String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2: III. Allegretto08:02
• 8String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2: IV. Finale. Presto05:36
• 9String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3 "Razumovsky": I. Introduzione. Andante con moto - Allegro vivace10:44
• 10String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3 "Razumovsky": II. Andante con moto quasi allegretto09:06
• 11String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3 "Razumovsky": III. Menuetto. Grazioso05:22
• 12String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3 "Razumovsky": IV. Allegro molto05:58
• 13String Quartet No. 10 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74 "Harp": I. Poco adagio - Allegro09:40
• 14String Quartet No. 10 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74 "Harp": II. Adagio ma non troppo09:39
• 15String Quartet No. 10 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74 "Harp": III. Presto05:05
• 16String Quartet No. 10 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74 "Harp": IV. Allegretto con variazioni06:55
• 17String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95 "Quartetto serioso": I. Allegro con brio04:26
• 18String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95 "Quartetto serioso": II. Allegretto ma non troppo07:17
• 19String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95 "Quartetto serioso": III. Allegro assai vivace, ma serioso04:37
• 20String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95 "Quartetto serioso": IV. Larghetto espressivo - Allegretto agitato - Allegro04:36
• Total Runtime02:41:48

Info for Beethoven: The Middle Quartets

Ludwig van Beethoven: The Razumovsky Quartets. Count Razumovsky, the Russian ambassador to Vienna, commissioned Beethoven to write the three quartets of Op.59 in 1805 for the Schuppanzigh Quartet. The Count was an amateur violinist and frequently played as second violinist with the Schuppanzigh Quartet, a group he funded and whose members were considered to be some of Vienna’s finest string players. In his commission, Count Razumovsky’s only specific request of Beethoven was that Russian folk tunes be significantly featured in the music. Beethoven fulfilled this request in two of the three quartets, but with melodies that are, as he put it, “real or imitated” Russian themes. The Op.59 set was completed in 1806, after the “Eroica” Symphony of 1803, six years after his earlier Op. 18 quartets, and immediately following the “Waldstein” and “Appassionata” Piano Sonatas. In the three-year period of 1803-06, Beethoven completed his Fourth Piano concerto, Piano Sonata in F, Op.54, his Triple Concerto, 3 Leonore Overtures, the three Op.59 quartets and his opera Fidelio, thereby demonstrating his mastery of the genres of the symphony, sonata, concerto, opera and string quartet. With the publication of the Op.59 quartets, Beethoven moved the genre of the string quartet out of the small “chamber” setting and onto a larger stage. Each of the Op.59 quartets stands as a monumental individual work, both in terms of literal size and dramatic scope. ….

Arianna String Quartet:
John McGrosso, violin
Julia Sakharova, violin
Joanna Mendoza, viola
Kurt Baldwin, cello

Arianna String Quartet
Hailed for their outstanding musicianship, the Arianna String Quartet has firmly established itself as one of America's finest chamber ensembles. Their performances have been praised for “tonal warmth, fastidious balance…expressive vitality” (Chicago Tribune) and “emotional commitment and fluent virtuosity,” (Pretoria News, South Africa). Formed in 1992, the ASQ garnered national attention by winning the Grand Prize in the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, First Prize in both the Coleman and Carmel Chamber Music Competitions, and were Laureates in the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition.

The Arianna Quartet has appeared throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia, with frequent visits to Brazil and South Africa. They have collaborated with many of the world’s finest musicians, including members of the Vermeer, Tokyo, Cleveland and Juilliard Quartets, and their live performances have been heard on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today,” and “Live from Music Mountain”, which broadcasts to 125 stations in the U.S. and to 35 countries. The ASQ has recorded for Albany Records and Urtext Digital Classics, and has a long-term contract with Centaur Records. Their most recent release of the two string quartets of Janácek, which has already received critical acclaim, is now available. (“These performances of the Arianna String Quartet demonstrate how technical excellence, in alliance with imagination and the human heart, can come to create something truly transcendent.” – Fanfare Magazine)

Celebrating their 25th Season, highlights for 2016-17 also include return trips to Brazil for the FEMUSC Festival in Jaragua do Sul, the Barra Mansa Music Festival, and concerts in Rio de Janeiro, as well as live performances on Chicago’s WFMT radio, returns to the Madeline Island Music Camp (WI) and Credo Festival, the completion of their recordings of the complete quartets of Beethoven for Centaur Records, and concerts throughout the United States. The ASQ also looks forward to the continuation of the Arianna Chamber Music Festival, in St. Louis, where they have been full-time faculty at the University of Missouri-St. Louis since 2000. The Arianna Quartet is Ensemble-in-Residence at the Touhill Performing Arts Center in St. Louis, where they present their own series of concerts.

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