Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Fine Arts Quartet
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Naxos
Release: 2020
Size: 1.32 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
String Quartet Hess 32 (Original Version of Op. 18 No. 1)
01. I. Allegro con brio
02. II. Adagio molto
03. III. Scherzo. Allegro
04. IV. Allegretto
05. String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131 – I. Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo
06. Prelude & Fugue Hess 30
07. Allegretto in B minor, WoO 210
08. Prelude & Fugue in C Major, Hess 31
09. Fugue in D Minor, Hess 245 (Fragment)
10. Fugue from Handel’s Solomon Hess 36
11. Minuet in A flat major, WoO 209 (Hess 33)
12. Grosse Fuge in B flat major, Op. 133
The string quartets of Beethoven are among the greatest works of their kind, but he composed other works for quartet which have been neglected. This album is dedicated to these intriguing rarities. Alongside the wild and monumental Grosse Fuge, in many ways the culmination of Beethoven’s achievements in the string quartet genre, this recording further displays his mastery of counterpoint by bringing to light brilliant yet forgotten original versions of his quartets Op. 18, No. 1 and Op. 131, plus six virtually unknown miniatures, including his Preludes and Fugues.