QUINTET in C Major for 2 Violins, Viola and 2 Violoncellos, Op. 163
QUARTETS for 2 Violins, Viola and Violoncello
N°1
N°2 in C Major
N°3 in B-flat Major
N°4 in C Major
N°5 in B-flat Major
N°6 in D Major
N°7 in D Major
N°8 in B-flat Major, Op. 168
N°9 in G Minor
N°10 in E-flat Major, Op. 125 No. 1
N°11 in E Major, Op. 125 No. 2
N°12 (Quartett-Satz) in C Minor
N°13 in A Minor, Op. 29
N°14 in D Minor ( Death and the Maiden )
N°15 in G Major, Op. 161
TRIOS for Violin, Viola and Violoncello
In B-flat Major
In B-flat Major

Kevin Volans' String Quartet No. 9: Shiva Dances was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and first performed by the Smith Quartet at the 2004 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.Kevin Volans (the composer) notes on the piece:In the past I have been interested in trying to go beyond historicism (1970s) beyond style(1980s) and beyond form (1990s) in my work. Looking back over the music of the twentiethcentury I was struck by the fact the nearlyall of it is extremely 'busy' almost cluttered. Italmost seemed that composers felt compelled to look industrious. In the new millennium Ithought it would be interesting to try and eliminate content. I also aspired to movingfrommusic (sound as art) to art (art as sound). This of course has already been done by a numberof composers (many from New York Phil Niblock and La Monte Young to name but two) butit was something I had never tried.AlthoughI found it annoying that the label 'minimalist' was given to my African-based work and fearing this would make the label stick I set out to write a piece which reflected my loveof minimal painting and architecture. The Japanesehave a term 'wabi' meaning 'voluntarypoverty' or 'emptiness' to describe their restrained minimal aesthetic an aesthetic which however pays greatest attention to the quality of material and fine detail. I like to think thatthelack of excessive pitch material in this piece reflects a kind of voluntary poverty.When Shiva is portrayed dancing (as Nataraj) He is depicted in a circle of flames crushing asmall figure the ego underfoot.You get theimpression He dances on the spot not movingaround at all. I like that.The piece is dedicated to Pablo Pascual Cilleruelo.

Par ULLMANN VIKTOR. [Einsätzig; Ullmann beschreibt auf der Titelseite des Autographen folgende Unterteilung:] I Exposition (soll wiederholt werden) • II Scherzo mit Trio und verkürzter Wiederholung • III Durchführung des Hauptsatzes • IV Largo (quasi Fuge, mit Durchführung des Seitensatzes als Episode) • V Rondo-Finale mit Coda (Haupt-Thema)/ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes

Par MOZART WOLFGANG AMADEUS. Editeur(s) d'origine: Klengel, Paul/ Répertoire / 2 Violons Et Violoncelle

Gabriel Fauré's only string quartet which was composed in 1923-24 is the composer?s final work and was written at the suggestion of his publisher Jacques Durand.Until then Fauré had always put off writing a string quartet evidently because of Beethoven?s imposing shadow. When Fauré composed the quartet he was already extremely ill. He added dynamics and slurs only in some parts of the exposition of the first movement and then asked his former pupil Jean Roger-Ducasse to complete the work. Roger-Ducasse?s additions were however very extensive; he even altered and supplemented some of Fauré?s own markings in the exposition.Bärenreiter's first ever scholarlycritical edition of the quartet based on vol. V/3 of the edition 'Gabriel Fauré: ?vres complètes' begun in August 2010 utilises all sources including the composer?s letters which provide valuable insights into the origins of the composition. In particular Fauré?s penultimate work the Piano Trio op. 120 was used to guide the editor with his emendations.

Conducteur

Pierre Vachon naquit à Avignon en 1738. Il fut un brillant violoniste qui se produisit sur les plus grandes scènes à Paris, Londres et Berlin. Il fut nommé en 1786 Konzertmeister de l'Orchestre royal de Berlin. C'est également un compositeur qui excellait dans la musique instrumentale : symphonies, sonates, duettos, trio et surtout une trentaine de quatuors à cordes de très belle facture, parmi les meilleures productions françaises en cette fin de 18e siècle.

Les éditeurs parisiens signalaient sous le terme de « quatuor concertant » des 'uvres plus particulièrement composées dans un souci d'équilibre entre les deux violons, l'alto et le violoncelle, comme les 6 quatuors publiés ici. Ces 'uvres mettent en valeur chacune des 4 parties dans une très belle texture contrapuntique. Elles étaient destinés aux « amateurs » (terme qui désignait alors des instrumentistes souvent de très bon niveau) qui prenaient plaisir à jouant ensemble.

Les 6 quatuors à cordes de l'opus XI sont tous très différents les uns des autres bien qu'ils soient tous en 3 mouvements faisant alterner les modes et les tempi et s'ouvrent par un Moderato. Ces oeuvres durent entre 10 et 20 minutes. Contrairement à l'opus VII, dont le numéro 2 est publié aux Éditions du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, ils ne comportent aucun chiffrage à la basse, ce qui semble privilégier une interprétation sans basse continue. On pourra rapprocher ces 'uvres des quatuors déjà publiés de Gossec.