Six Quartets

Score Parties. Par BEETHOVEN LUDWIG VAN. When Beethoven wrote these three quartets he was 15 years old and a composition student of Christian Gottlob Neefe in Bonn. They reveal a strong Mozartian influence while the brilliant piano writing already gives a sense of the mature Beethoven. He may conceivably have written the works for the wealthy Mastiaux family in Bonn, as he gave piano lessons to one of the daughters and the other three siblings played violin, viola and violoncello. The sole source for the quartets is the autograph score which contains many overwritings that shed light on the works' original conception and possible alternative readings. Although Beethoven never published the pieces in his lifetime and is not known to have performed them, he reused their melodic and thematic material in later compositions. Beethoven preserved the autograph score to the end of his days ? perhaps an indication that the quartets meant a great deal to him. The first edition was published by Artaria in Vienna one year after his death, albeit with the pieces in a different order and with many errors in the musical text. Bärenreiter's scholarly performing edition of the Piano Quartets WoO 36 is edited by the Italian pianist Leonardo Miucci, a specialist in the performance practice of keyboard music from this period. The edition not only presents the correct readings, it also sheds light on the young Beethoven's expressive notation and provides a plausible explanation for the distinction he made between dots and strokes to indicate staccato./ Répertoire / Quatuor pour Piano, Violon, Alto et Violoncelle

Par POHJOLA SEPPO. According to Jouni Kaipainen, the fourth string quartet (2006) is one of key works of Seppo Pohjola (b. 1965) and holds a place as a landmark in Finnish quartet literature. Of the composer's five string quartets, it is the longest and has the widest thematic arcs of his quartets. Seppo Pohjola has gone through a variety of styles in his musical career. He began as a strict Modernist, progressed towards Expressionism and took on board Romantic influences before ending up in the early 2000s in (a reformed brand of) Modernism again. Osmo Tapio Räihälä describes the end result thus: “The ‘new' Pohjola often anchors his style in a frenetic pulse through which he builds musical processes.” Duration c. 33 minutes. Score (A4) and parts (B4)./ Répertoire / String Quartet

Hoffmeister Quartet and Prussian Quartets-Over the next few years all 26 of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?s String Quartets will be published by Henle in an Urtext Edition of both score and parts. All previous editions have left much to be desired for example asconcerns the correct placement of dynamic markings.Henle?s edition made with the artistic collaboration of the Armida Quartet draws upon the large body of modern knowledge concerning Mozart philology andperformance practice. We begin with what are chronologically speaking the final four quartets: the so-called ?Hoffmeister? Quartet K. 499 and the three ?Prussian? Quartets K. 575 589 and 590.It is possible that the impulse behind the composition of these last three works was the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II who was an excellent cellist. Modern cellists will find many beautiful melodies to enjoy in thesequartets.

Three Divertimenti Plus The Spring Dissonance And Prussian No.- Quartets-Divertimenti were a popular genre in the 18th century offering listeners a lighthearted 'diversion' at social functions. Mozart wrote these three pieces for string quartet in Salzburg in 1772. The three-movement Italian-style compositions require only wind parts to assume another form hence their common description as the 'Salzburg Symphonies.'This authoritative inexpensive edition of the ever-popular composer's works features three additional quartets: 'Spring ' 'Dissonance ' and 'Prussian No. 1' QuartetsDover Original.