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Weekly quartet. Just a music lover perspective.

733K views 9K replies 102 participants last post by  hammeredklavier 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I love string music and just following another forum friend example am going to dedicate every day of the week time enough to listen quietly a string quartet. I will google for info about the particular opus and post any important info that I found, specially performers interview and so on..

Anyone wanting to join is welcome, just maintaining the perspective stated in the post title. You will probably will find here emotions, personal points of view and so on. If you are a professional, you'll probably will not find the info useful, the only purpose of this entertainment is to increase music enjoyment by knowing a little better the music to listen.

In this thread you will find the activity coordination info. Anyone wanting to participate just post an answer. Quartet selection will be made in order of "appearance".

For the first week, beginning on February, 24 I'll select the first quartet: Beethoven, String Quartet 14, opus 131. Will open the thread tomorrow Sunday.

Enjoy.
Vicente Vida

Talk Classical String Quartet Thread
(quartet of the week in large font)

Abrahamsen - String Quartet No. 4
Ades - The Four Quarters
Alwyn - String Quartet No. 3
Arensky - String Quartet No. 1
Arensky - String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 35/35a
Arnold - String Quartet No. 2
Arriaga - String Quartet No. 2
Arriaga - String Quartet No. 3
Bacewicz - String Quartet No 4
Bach - Art of Fugue
Barber - String Quartet
Bartók - String Quartet No. 3
Bartók - String Quartet No. 4
Bartók - String Quartet No. 5
Bartók - String Quartet No. 6
Bax - String Quartet No. 1
Beach - Quartet for Strings in One Movement, Op. 89
Beamish - String Quartet No. 2 “Opus California”
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 1
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 2
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 7 "Razumovsky 1"
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 8 "Razumovsky 2"
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 11
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 12
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 13
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 14
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 15
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 16
Berg - Lyric Suite
Birtwistle - The Tree of Strings
Bloch, E. - String Quartet No. 3
Boccherini - String Quartet g minor, op. 32 No. 5, G 205
Borodin - String Quartet No. 2
Brahms - String Quartet No. 1
Brahms - String Quartet No. 2
Brahms - String Quartet No. 3
Bretón - String Quartet No. 3
Bridge - String Quartet No. 2
Bridge - String Quartet No. 4
Britten - String Quartet No. 1
Britten - String Quartet No. 2
Britten - String Quartet No. 3
Bruch - String Quartet No.2
Busoni - String Quartet No.2
Cage - String Quartet in Four Parts
Carter - String Quartet no 1
Carter - String Quartet No. 3
Cerha - String Quartet No. 2
Chausson - String Quartet in C minor, op. 35
Cherubini - String Quartet No. 1
Chin, U. - ParaMetaString
Coates, G. - String Quartet No. 9
Crawford Seeger - String Quartet
Crumb - Black Angels
Czerny - String Quartet in D Minor
Davies, Peter Maxwell - Naxos String Quartet No. 3
Debussy - String Quartet in G Minor
Dohnányi - String Quartet No. 2
Donizetti - String Quartet No. 7 in F minor
Dusapin - String Quartet No. 5
Dusapin - String Quartet No. 7 "OpenTime"
Dutilleux - Ainsi La Nuit
Dvořák - String Quartet No. 10 "Slavonic"
Dvořák - String Quartet No. 12 "American"
Dvořák - String Quartet No. 13
Dvořák - String Quartet No. 14
van Eechaute - String Quartet No. 1 "à la mémoire de Maurice Ravel"
Elgar - String Quartet in E Minor
Fauré - String Quartet in E Minor
Ferneyhough - String Quartet No. 6
Franck - String Quartet in D Major
Frank - Quijotidas
Gade - String Quartet in E Minor
Gerhard - String Quartet No. 2
Gernsheim - String Quartet No. 3 in F Major, Op. 51
Ginastera - String Quartet No. 2
Glass, Ph. - String Quartet no. 5
Glazunov - String Quartet No. 5 in d minor, Op. 70
Gliere - String Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 20
Grieg - String Quartet No. 1
Gubaidulina - String Quartet No. 1
Haas - String Quartet No. 2 op.7
Hanson - String Quartet (in One Movement), op. 23
Harvey - String Quartet No.4 with Live Electronics
Haydn - String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 20/3
Haydn - String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 20/5
Haydn - String Quartet in C major, Op. 33/3 "Bird"/"Vogel"
Haydn - String Quartet In G, Op. 33/5 " How Do You Do?"
Haydn - String Quartet in F sharp minor, Op. 50/4
Haydn - String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 64/3

Haydn - String Quartet Op.71, #2
Haydn - String Quartet Op.76, #2 "Fifths"
Haydn - String Quartet Op. 76, #4 "Sunrise"
Hillborg - Kongsgaard Variations
Hindemith - String Quartet No. 4
Holmboe - String Quartet No. 4
Holmboe - String Quartet No. 15
Honegger - String Quartet No. 2
Honegger - String Quartet No. 3
Howells - String Quartet No. 3 'In Gloucestershire'
Hummel - String Quartet No. 1 in C major, op. 30: No. 1
Husa - String Quartet No. 4 "Poems"
Ives - String Quartet No. 2
Janacek - String Quartet No. 1 'Kreutzer Sonata'
Janacek - String Quartet No. 2 'Intimate Letters'
Johnston - String Quartet No. 4 "Amazing Grace"
Kabalevsky - String Quartet No 2
Kagel - String Quartet No.2
Kodály - String Quartet 2, op. 10
Koechlin - String Quartet No. 1
Kokkonen - String Quartet No. 3
Korngold - String Quartet No. 2
Krenek - String Quartet No. 5
Kurtág - Six Moments Musicaux for String Quartet
Lachenmann - Gran Torso
Lachenmann - Reigen seliger Geister (Round Dance of the Blessed Spirits)
Langgaard - String Quartet No. 4
Larcher - Ixxu
Lavista - String Quartet No. 4 "Sinfonías"
Ligeti - String Quartet No. 1 “Métamorphoses nocturnes”
Ligeti - String Quartet No. 2
Lutosławski - String Quartet
Magnard - String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 16
Malipiero - String Quartet No. 1 "Rispetti e strambotti"
Martinů - String Quartet No. 5
Martinů - String Quartet No. 7 "Concerto da camera"
Mathias - String Quartet No. 1
Fanny Mendelssohn - String Quartet in E Flat Major
Felix Mendelssohn - String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13
Felix Mendelssohn - String Quartet No. 3 in D major, op. 44-1
Felix Mendelssohn - String Quartet No. 4 in E minor, Op. 44-2
Felix Mendelssohn - String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80
Milhaud - String Quartet No. 1
Moeran - String Quartet No. 1
Mosolov - String Quartet No. 1
Mozart - String Quartet No. 14 "Spring"
Mozart - String Quartet No. 19 "Dissonance"
Mozart - String Quartet No. 20 in D major K. 499 "Hoffmeister"
Mozart - String Quartet No. 22 in Bb K. 589
Myaskovsky - String Quartet No. 13 in A minor, Op. 86
Nielsen - String Quartet No. 3
Nielsen - String Quartet No. 4
Nono - Fragmente-Stille, an Diotima (1979-80)
Nordgren, Pehr Henrik - String Quartet No. 10
Nordheim - String Quartet (1956)
Penderecki - String Quartet No. 3 "Leaves of an Unwritten Diary"
Pfitzner - String Quartet No. 2 in C sharp minor , Op. 36
Pleyel - String Quartet in G Major, B. 332
Popov - Quartet-Symphony
Prokofiev - String Quartet No. 1
Prokofiev - String Quartet No. 2 "Kabardinian"
Ran - String Quartet No. 3 "Glitter, Doom, Shards, Memory"
Ravel - String Quartet in F Major
Reger - String Quartet No. 1
Reger - String Quartet No. 4
Revueltas - String Quartet No. 3
Rihm - String Quartet No. 3 „Im Innersten“
Rihm - Et Lux for String Quartet and Vocals
Rubbra - String Quartet No. 3
Saariaho - Nymphéa (Jardin Secret III) for String Quartet and Live Electronics
Saygun - String Quartet No. 1, op. 27
Schnittke - String Quartet No. 2
Schnittke - String Quartet No. 3
Schönberg - String Quartet No. 2 in F-sharp minor, Op. 10
Schoenberg - String Quartet No. 4
Schubert - String Quartet No 4 D46
Schubert - String Quartet No. 13 "Rosamunde"
Schubert - String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor "Death and the Maiden"
Schubert - String Quartet No. 15
Schulhoff - String Quartet No. 1
Schuman - String Quartet No. 5
Schumann - String Quartet No. 1
Schumann - String Quartet No. 3 in A Major, Op. 41/3
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 2
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 3
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 4
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 5
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 8
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 10
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 12
Sibelius - String Quartet in D Minor "Voces Intimae"
Silvestrov - String Quartet No. 1
Simpson - String Quartet No. 1
Smetana - String Quartet No. 1 "From My Life"
Spohr - String Quartet No. 7 n E-Flat major, Op. 29.1
Szymanowski - String Quartet No. 1
Takemitsu - A Way A Lone
Taneyev - String Quartet No. 2 in C major, Op. 5
Tchaikovsky - String Quartet No. 1
Tchaikovsky - String Quartet No. 3
Thoresen - Aion
Thorvaldsdottir - Enigma
Tippett - String Quartet No. 2
Toch -String Quartet No. 10, Op. 28
Tower - In Memory
Valen - String Quartet No. 2
Vasks - String Quartet No. 4
Vaughan Williams - String Quartet No. 2 in A minor
Verdi - String Quartet in E Minor
Villa-Lobos - String Quartet No. 1
Villa Lobos - String Quartet No. 14
Volkmann - String Quartet No. 5
Walton - String Quartet No.2 in A-minor
Webern - Fünf Sätze für Streichquartett, Op. 5 ("Five Movements")
Webern - Six Bagatelles for String Quartet
Weinberg - String Quartet No. 6
Wolf - String Quartet in D minor
Wollschleger - String Quartet #2 "White Wall"
Wolpe - String Quartet
Xenakis - Tetras
Zemlinsky - String Quartet No. 2
Zemlinsky - String Quartet No. 4
Zorn - Cat O’ Nine Tails


The schedule for this round (those who had their turn in italics), choices are typically made on Sunday:

The list for this round:
Mandryka
Josquin13
sbmonty
Merl
Knorf
Malx

(SearsPoncho)

Carmina Banana
StevehamNY
Kjetil Heggelund
Kreisler jr

(allaroundmusicenthusiast)
HerbertNorman
Philidor

maestro267
(Pianomaniac)
Art Rock
Joek Baron
Xenophiliu
Shoskofiev
SanAntone
AndresVel
Mister Meow
Neo Romanza

Also of interest:

Merl's Blogged String Quartet reviews
 
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#4 ·
Hi
This activity idea is to deepen in the knowledge of a particular opus during a whole week.

My personal experience is that when I listen a composition several times, my enjoyment experience grows. During every listening experience I take into account new details, begin to “learn” melodies or themes, how they repeat during the opus development, what effect do they produce in my emotions. That sort of things.

We can listen two or three different versions of the same composition and look for the different approach, what’s your perspective of the different interpretations.

Those sorts of things cannot be attained the first time you listen, that’s why I proposed the activity.

Regards
Vicente Vida
 
#5 ·
This is so exciting. I’m going to join. An inspired first selection. I think I will be listening to the Takacs Quartet recording.
 
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#6 ·
#11 · (Edited)
Up to know people interested in the String Quartet activity are as in the following list:

- Vicente
- flamencosketches
- Selby

flamencosteches, if you would like, select an string quartet to be listened in week 02/08 March, so everybody interested can look for recordings and/or information.

Thanks a lot
Vicente Vida
 
#16 · (Edited)
^^ What ACB said ;) My listening time is precious and I try and get as much variety during the week as possible. I did listen to Quartteto Italiano do op.131 earlier this week (once) and it only reaffirmed my opinion as it being one of the greatest quartets ever. I love the dark fugue, variations and then the scherzo which never fails to delight me.
 
#17 ·
If next week's quartet has not been chosen yet I would like to nominate one: String Quartet No.3 by Benjamin Britten. I haven't heard it yet and this will give me an excuse to explore it in-depth. Of course, let's pick something we agree on.

Anyway I'm about to listen to op.131 for the third and likely final time this week.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Could you put me on the list, too? I'd like to participate (hopefully, I'll have the time). You seem to be following my suggestion on Selby's piano sonata thread, that each person on the list gets their turn to pick a different string quartet each week. I like that format, and have found from past experience that it works well--so long as people stay aware of when it's their turn to pick. (A weekly reminder isn't a bad idea-- "so & so, you're up next week...") It also helps to keep an ongoing list of people's choices that is updated & posted weekly, not only to serve as reference for the group, but also to help people see when their turn is coming back up again.

I should add that, in my opinion, we shouldn't have to justify our choices or make sure that they're accepted by the whole group beforehand, but rather feel free to pick whatever SQ interests us. In other words, not everyone is going to like everything that we listen to each week, & that's a good thing! Otherwise, the choices of repertory might become too uniform and familiar, & what's the fun in that? Plus, I expect it will become unnecessarily time consuming (& possibly a drag) for each of us to make sure that our choices are accepted by the whole group every week. We just have to accept that some listeners will inevitably say "I didn't like that SQ", and it shouldn't be taken personally, but is be expected. Of course, at the same time, you have to hope that people will do their best to pick a SQ that strongly interests them, and that they believe will interest others.

Then, once the thread is established, at some point in the future, if the SQ repertory becomes largely exhausted, we could easily switch over to piano trios, or violin sonatas, or quintets, etc.

How does that sound? Though of course it's your thread, you certainly don't have to listen to me.

flamencosketches--If you don't pick Mozart's "Dissonance" Quartet, don't worry, I'm sure I'll choose it at some point, since it's one of my top five favorite SQs. But feel free, it's a great choice.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Be careful of something if you choose the Schumann. Schumann revised and pruned back all of his op 41 set after Mendelssohn gave him feedback. The abridged revised versions are the ones which have been most often recorded. As far as I know, only The Leipzig Quartet have recorded the originals - it’s quite a revelation. You will need to be sure that you’re all talking about the same thing if there are any discussions.

I’d be very keen to know if anyone else has recorded the first versions.
 
#23 · (Edited)
The OP seems to have disappeared, but he did give this week’s choice to Flamencosketches, who indicated that his top choice would be Britten’s No. 3. There also seems to be some enthusiasm for Schumann. Shall we roll with either of those? If no one else will, I will gladly volunteer to step in for Vicente and “run” this thread. I’ve also been in a quartet phase lately.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Since Britten was Flamenco's first pick, let's go with it. After all, this is supposed to be an activity to open our ears up and expand our musical minds. I'll chime in with my initial thoughts tomorrow after I listen to the Amadeus Quartet recording (the quartet that the work was originally written for). I am not very acquainted with Britten's music, and I haven't been a fan of what I've heard; but I'm excited about the possibilities! (though I can't say I'll be listening to the whole thing daily, I will definitely return to it frequently throughout the week).

So, just to keep track:

Week of 02/22: Beethoven - String Quartet No. 14 (Vicente)
Week of 03/02: Britten - String Quartet No. 3 (flamencosketches)

I'm not sure what the process will be for choosing the "choosers" of each week's work. Also, I think we should just keep all the weekly thoughts in this same thread for the sake of continuity, unless people prefer separate threads for each week's quartet.
 
#27 ·
Flamenco, I think that works as a method for nominations. That is, if we get enough participants in this activity (which I'd like to extend for as long as possible); otherwise the list of those willing to make choices will soon dwindle:) Thanks for offering me the nomination, I will decide by tomorrow.

Benjamin Britten's 3rd Quartet is layed out in five movements, each with somewhat unusual descriptive titles:
I. Duets
II. Ostinato
III. Solo
IV. Burlesque
V. Recitative and Passacaglia


Here is an interesting Wikipedia article that features a brief analysis, and some interesting quotes from critics.

After a cursory listen to a live recording from the Amadeus Quartet, I can give some initial thoughts. Holy smokes. This is very dense, opaque music. I had no idea that Britten was so radical. This was his last published composition before his death in 1976, and this is a very contemporary piece of music. My mind drew initial comparisons to Berg's Lyric Suite and the quartets of Bartok, but there is no doubt that despite the very contemporary feeling here, Britten is using a very distinct and personal compositional voice. To my ears, this is atonal, but I have not seen any indication that it technically is. I do not have any strong feelings about the music yet except that it is very different from what I typically enjoy. It seems to wander around in its own sense of stasis, not really reaching any destinations, reveling in the wondrous sounds and bizarre colors and ideas that Britten draws from the quartet. If nothing else, this definitely stretches what four string instruments can do to the breaking point. I will be listening again tomorrow, after I refresh my mind with some more familiar-sounding music:)
 
#29 · (Edited)
What does it matter if we 'sign up', rather than just post in the threads
There's no need to formally "sign up.":) Just participate if you're up for it! However, unless you indicate so, I will consider you a candidate for a future quartet nomination if you participate in this thread. For example, if you post your thoughts on the Britten this week, I could nominate you to choose a work down the road.
 
#30 · (Edited)
First impression of the Britten 3:

Wow, I love what I'm hearing. It's an explosion of color in motion. I hear a motif of a major 7th that has been present in all movements. The sonorities he gets out of these strings, especially in the way they contrast between movements, ie. the sharpness of the second movement and the quietude of the third, are amazing. I knew I would like it, because I liked the first two string quartets a lot, but I think this might be his best yet. I don't find it terribly spiky and I wouldn't call it atonal by any means, there is much emphasis on common practice harmony. I found it very lyrical and shimmering, and actually quite inviting. There are some crunchy chords and harmonic implications here and there, but nothing like what you encounter in Berg or Bartók. Hearing this makes me wonder why Britten is not better known for his string quartets.

I'll be spending my time with the Maggini Quartet recording on Naxos:



There are others out there that are supposed to be very good, including the Amadeus Quartet, which Allegro Con Brio mentioned; the Britten Quartet, who I imagine have some sort of idea about how this music should be played, on Brilliant Classics; and the Emperor Quartet, on BIS. For the streamers in our ranks, it might be rewarding to explore multiple interpretations.

Anyway, I'll be listening again tomorrow, maybe take a day off, then again over the weekend. I would love to get my hands on a score to pore over while listening, but I don't think it's on IMSLP on account of Britten having died in the last half century.

Ah, that passacaglia finale is just gorgeous.
 
#31 ·
Have not heard this piece before and listening to the Brodsky recording

First impression is structure and language reminds me of Britten's solo guitar piece Nocturnal, which was written a few years earlier. While this lacks the 'anchor' of the Dowland tune used in Nocturnal it likewise has an several episodic movements followed by a passacaglia.
 
#34 ·
After hearing it for a second time today, I can gladly report I've made a bit of progress. First of all, I can say with confidence that I prefer the Endellion Quartet recording quite a bit to the live Amadeus I heard yesterday. It was a bit less on-the-nose, more subtle, more lyrical, which I appreciate in this kind of music. This time around I tried my preferred technique for listening to modern music: imagining a vast canvas upon which the composer splashes a variety of colors, shapes, and textures. This helped me understand what Britten was getting at, and helped me appreciate the rare moments of tonal purity in the music. This work is about exploring the relationships and musical potentials of the four instruments, as evidenced by the first movement "Duets" which demonstrates every possible combination of timbres and colors between the instrument pairs. That said, it is also the hardest movement to understand for me. By far my favorite movement is the finale, which, after a very dissonant opening recitative, plunges into a passacaglia in which the ground bass is passed off between the instruments in a series of interesting variations. The final bars, which gradually fade away into silence, are very effective. I confess that "beautiful" is not the first adjective I think of when I hear music like this, and I freely admit that I have a very tough time enjoying it. But using this listening technique, I was able to hear wildly imaginative ideas and colors that got me thinking. And yes, I encountered moments of beauty as well.

Having graciously accepted the nomination from Flamencosketches, I am announcing that next week's quartet will be Brahms - String Quartet No. 1 in C Minor. Brahms's quartets are a very overlooked part of his ouevre, and though I am a dedicated Brahmsian, I have yet to really love them. I think this will make for a great study!
 
#35 ·
Glad to hear you got more out of it this time. I would agree with you that the opening movement is the most challenging. It actually almost reminds me of the Prima Parte from Bartók's String Quartet No.3. I have just started my second listen and perhaps I will add more thoughts in an edit once I have finished.

Anyway I will probably listen to the Britten once (possibly twice) more over the weekend, and then beginning on Sunday we will move onto the Brahms. Very much looking forward to that as I have yet to spend time with the Brahms SQs much. I have the Alban Berg Quartett recording, and since I'm considering a purchase of the Amadeus Quartet set (with all quartets, quintets and sextets) I will try and find that to stream as well. Good choice!
 
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