Composer: Leoš Janáček, Karol Szymanowski
Performer: Schoenberg Quartet
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Chandos
Catalogue: CHAN10405
Release: 2007
Size: 333 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Szymanowski: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 37
01. I. Lento assai
02. II. Andantino semplice. In modo d’una canzone
03. III. Vivace
Janáček: String Quartet No. 1 ‘The Kreutzer Sonata’
04. I. Adagio
05. II. Con moto
06. III. Con moto
07. IV. Con moto
Szymanowski: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 56
08. I. Moderato dolce e tranquillo
09. II. Vivace, scherzando
10. III. Lento
Janáček: String Quartet No. 2, JW VII / 13, “Intimate Letters”
11. I. Andante
12. II. Adagio
13. III. Moderato
14. IV. Allegro
The Schoenberg Quartet’s reading of the Szymanowski quartets is near ideal. While always expressive, they manage to make superb sense of the composer’s contrapuntal writing and seem to relish the more challenging excursions into a surprisingly dissonant sound world in the second quartet.