Composer: Emilie Mayer
Performer: Constanze Quartet
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: CPO
Catalogue: 555600-2
Release: 2023
Size: 1.37 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
String Quartet in G major
01. I. Allegro moderato
02. II. Adagio
03. III. Scherzo. Allegro assai
04. IV. Allegro vivace
String Quartet in A major
05. I. Un poco Adagio. Allegro moderato
06. II. Adagio
07. III. Scherzo
08. IV. Finale. Allegretto
String Quartet in E minor
09. I. Allegro maestoso
10. II. Scherzo
11. III. Adagio molto espressivo
12. IV. Allegro appassionato
In our successful Emilie Mayer edition, we now begin on Vol. 1 with three of her string quartets. While still a student of Carl Loewe, the composer turned to the most aesthetically demanding and respected genre of chamber music, the string quartet. In 1848, a critic of the Berliner Vossische Zeitung praised the “lovely cantilenas,” the “deft arrangement,” and “especially the noble and dignified style” of her string quartets. The quartets in G major, A major, and E minor were written by 1858 and were always favorably reviewed by the critics. However, borrowing from classical patterns, the strict motivic-thematic interpenetration of formal sections are only some aspects of Mayer’s quartet style. Another, and in this she goes far beyond classical patterns, is the strict motivic-thematic interpenetration of formal sections. Her Quartet in E minor seems never to have been performed, yet even the first movement is a masterpiece of concise drama, motivic-thematic economy, and avant-garde experimentation.