Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Artemis Quartet
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Erato
Catalogue: 6071020
Release: 2010
Size: 573 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
CD 01
String Quartet No. 9 in C major, Op. 59 No. 3 ‘Rasumovsky No. 3’
01. I. Introduzione (Andante con moto) – Allegro vivace
02. II. Andante con moto quasi allegretto
03. III. Menuetto (Grazioso) & Trio
04. IV. Allegro molto
String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132
05. I. Assai sostenuto – Allegro
06. II. Allegro ma non tanto
07. III. Molto adagio
08. IV. Alla marcia, assai vivace
09. V. Allegro appasionato
CD 02
String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 18 No. 2
01. I. Allegro
02. II. Adagio cantabile
03. III. Scherzo (Allegro) & Trio
04. IV. Allegro molto, quasi presto
String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131
05. I. Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo
06. II. Allegro molto vivace
07. III. Andante moderato
08. IV. Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile
09. V. Presto
10. VI. Adagio quasi un poco andante
11. VII. Allegro
Beethoven remains the ultimate test for a string quartet; with their ongoing complete cycle for Virgin Classics, the Artemis Quartet are rising to the challenge.
The Quartet’s debut release on the label in 2005 comprised Beethoven’s op 59/1 and op 95, followed by the second release in 2008 in the cycle bringing together op 59/2, the ‘Razumovsky’ Quartet, and the Quartet op 18/4 and which also introduced the ensemble’s latest members, Gregor Sigl (violin) and Friedemann Weigle (viola). The interpretations were warmly welcomed: in France, the release was named CHOC of the Year by Le Monde de la Musique and was also awarded a Diapason d’Or, while in Germany the recording was chosen as Chamber Music Recording of the Year in the the ECHO Klassik awards of the Deutsche Phono-Akademie. In the UK, the influential Sunday Times singled out the release, praising the “fresh, positive responses” of the Artemis Quartet: “ … their colours are vivid and they are alert to the music’s intent to push all sorts of boundaries to breaking point.”
In the UK, BBC Radio 3’s CD Review suggested that the recording (op 59/2 & 18/4) should go to the top of any list of recommendations, while the Daily Telegraph observed that the Artemis “keep romantic expressiveness, dramatic urgency and a classical sense of architecture in fine equilibrium.”
A concert performance of Beethoven’s op 18/4 in the USA in 2008 year prompted the following reaction from the New York Times: “The Artemis has always played with vigor, brilliance and sensitivity. More than that, its performances have had clarity of conception and unfussy directness. All these qualities were abundant on this occasion … Beethoven’s Quartet in C minor (Op. 18, No. 4) came across in this incisive and full-bodied performance as the audacious work of a supremely confident young man, especially in a moody menuetto, thick with slinky chromatic lines and wayward harmonies.”