Composer: Béla Bartók
Performer: Heath Quartet
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Release: 2017
Size: 2.81 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
CD 01
01. String Quartet No. 1, Sz. 40: I. Lento
02. String Quartet No. 1, Sz. 40: II. Allegretto. Introduzione
03. String Quartet No. 1, Sz. 40: III. Allegro vivace
04. String Quartet No. 3, Sz. 85: I. Prima parte. Moderato
05. String Quartet No. 3, Sz. 85: II. Seconda parte. Allegro
06. String Quartet No. 3, Sz. 85: III. Recapitulazione della prima parte. Moderato
07. String Quartet No. 3, Sz. 85: IV. Coda. Allegro molto
08. String Quartet No. 5, Sz. 102: I. Allegro
09. String Quartet No. 5, Sz. 102: II. Adagio molto
10. String Quartet No. 5, Sz. 102: III. Scherzo. Alla bulgarese
11. String Quartet No. 5, Sz. 102: IV. Andante
12. String Quartet No. 5, Sz. 102: V. Finale. Allegro vivace
CD 02
01. String Quartet No. 2, Sz. 67: I. Moderato
02. String Quartet No. 2, Sz. 67: II. Allegro molto capriccioso
03. String Quartet No. 2, Sz. 67: III. Lento
04. String Quartet No. 4, Sz. 91: I. Allegro
05. String Quartet No. 4, Sz. 91: II. Prestissimo, con sordino
06. String Quartet No. 4, Sz. 91: III. Non troppo lento
07. String Quartet No. 4, Sz. 91: IV. Allegretto pizzicato
08. String Quartet No. 4, Sz. 91: V. Allegro molto
09. String Quartet No. 6, Sz. 114: I. Mesto. Più mosso, pesante – Vivace
10. String Quartet No. 6, Sz. 114: II. Mesto. Marcia
11. String Quartet No. 6, Sz. 114: III. Mesto – Burletta. Moderato
12. String Quartet No. 6, Sz. 114: IV. Mesto
The string quartet was of central importance to Bartók throughout his career. His six quartets were written (between 1907 and 1939) at crucial turning points in the composer’s creative development. From the elegiac tone of Quartet no.1 (reflecting an unhappy love affair) to the sadness and wry parody of no.6, composed on the eve of World War II, by way of the mirror forms and atmospheric ‘night music’ of nos.4 and 5, they represent perhaps the biggest interpretative challenge in the genre alongside the Beethoven quartets. A challenge triumphantly met here by the Heath Quartet.