Bartók: String Quartets Nos. 1-6

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Two of the strengths of the Heath Quartet are their ability to hold together Bartók’s more sectional structures, such as the first movements of the Fourth and Fifth quartets in convincing single... — BBC Music Magazine, September 2017, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 7th Jul 2017
Catalogue No: HMM90766162
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Length: 2 hours 37 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

September 2017

Editor's Choice
Presto Editor's Choice

June 2017
Presto Recordings of the Year

Finalist 2017
Record Review

10th June 2017

Recording of the Week
Gramophone Awards

2018

Finalist - Chamber

Bartók: String Quartet No. 1, Sz 40 (Op. 7)

Work length29:33

$4.80

$5.85

$7.20

Heath Quartet

I. Lento

Track length9:06

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

II. Allegretto. Introduzione

Track length10:07

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

III. Allegro vivace

Track length10:20

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

Bartók: String Quartet No. 3, Sz 85

Work length15:34

$4.20

$5.20

$6.40

Heath Quartet

I. Prima parte. Moderato

Track length4:45

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

II. Seconda parte. Allegro

Track length5:34

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

III. Recapitulazione della prima parte. Moderato

Track length2:55

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

IV. Coda. Allegro molto

Track length2:20

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

Bartók: String Quartet No. 5, Sz 102

Work length31:36

$6.35

$7.80

$9.60

Heath Quartet

I. Allegro

Track length7:58

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

II. Adagio molto

Track length5:52

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

III. Scherzo. Alla bulgarese

Track length5:29

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

IV. Andante

Track length4:44

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

V. Finale. Allegro vivace

Track length7:33

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

Bartók: String Quartet No. 2, Sz 67 (Op. 17)

Work length27:02

$4.80

$5.85

$7.20

Heath Quartet

I. Moderato

Track length9:51

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

II. Allegro molto capriccioso

Track length8:03

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

III. Lento

Track length9:08

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

Bartók: String Quartet No. 4, Sz 91

Work length24:12

$5.25

$6.50

$8.00

Heath Quartet

I. Allegro

Track length6:15

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

II. Prestissimo, con sordino

Track length3:12

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

III. Non troppo lento

Track length5:53

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

IV. Allegretto pizzicato

Track length3:01

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

V. Allegro molto

Track length5:51

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

Bartók: String Quartet No. 6, Sz 114

Work length29:24

$5.85

$7.15

$8.80

Heath Quartet

I. Mesto. Più mosso, pesante - Vivace

Track length7:40

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

II. Mesto. Marcia

Track length7:40

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

III. Mesto - Burletta. Moderato

Track length7:16

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

IV. Mesto

Track length6:48

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

About
Reviews
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About

A monument of chamber music.

The string quartet was of central importance to Bartók throughout his career. His six quartets were written (between 1907 and 1939) at crucial turning points in the composer’s creative development. From the elegiac tone of Quartet no.1 (reflecting an unhappy love affair) to the sadness and wry parody of no.6, composed on the eve of World War II, by way of the mirror forms and atmospheric ‘night music’ of nos.4 and 5, they represent perhaps the biggest interpretative challenge in the genre alongside the Beethoven quartets. A challenge triumphantly met here by the Heath Quartet.

Reviews

September 2017

Two of the strengths of the Heath Quartet are their ability to hold together Bartók’s more sectional structures, such as the first movements of the Fourth and Fifth quartets in convincing single spans, and their acute characterisation of some of his more extreme inventions…this fine release should not disappoint

September 2017

Their playing isn’t as glossy, perhaps, as other recent entrants into this field, such as the Jerusalem Quartet, but they have a powerful understanding of the music’s structure, coupled to superlative technical skill. Sensibly, they don’t try to fake a Hungarian accent: instead, their awareness of the music’s roots is incorporated into a wider expressive language.

June 2017

Taut, incisive accounts of all six works from the intrepid young British quartet, who positively crackle with energy in the allegros and endow the slow movements (particularly the sequence of ‘mesto’ sections in the Sixth Quartet) with an almost orchestral depth of tone. The folk-inspired movements are especially effective, with just the right sort of rough edge to the timbre.

4th June 2017

The Heath Quartet play each with an electrifying intensity, maintaining an irresistible impetus and negotiating abrupt character changes with aplomb.

7th June 2017

their performances deserve to be considered alongside the best … they are fine accounts … The careful balancing of textures and clarity of the part writing are regularly impressive

12th June 2017

The true joy of this survey by the Heath Quartet, taken from live recordings at the Wigmore Hall, is the pungency of performances that capture the essence of Bartók, from the desperation of youthful, unrequited love in the First Quartet, to the anguish of the last, written as war loomed. There is a freshness and immediacy running through every performance … This is a substantial achievement by the Heath Quartet, which offers new insights into one composer’s fascinating body of work

August 2017

This complete cycle of the six Bartok string quartets finds the Heath Quartet at the top of its game … the players exhibit almost superhuman concentration and stamina … The string tone throughout…is flawless, and ensemble work is exemplary … if there were any argument for yet another recorded cycle of the Bartok quartets entering a crowded market, this is it

Classical Music August 2017

This is another winner from the Heath Quartet. While each piece is impeccably prepared, balanced and executed, theirs is no one-size-fits-all approach...this is an utterly convincing and very welcome cycle.

Classical Ear 9th June 2017

I’d call this a radical re-think of the Bartók quartet cycle … Where the Heath Quartet scores is in its flexible approach, and the ease with which tempos relate to each other, especially in the largely romantic First Quartet, a work that in the wrong hands can seem episodic

Record Review 11th June 2017

everything the critics enthused about at the time [of the Wigmore Hall concerts] is present and correct: the sense of music on the edge, performances impeccably prepared but surfing a wave of adrenaline. The combination of Beethovenian intensity of No. 1 to the rustic folk rhythms and thrusting propulsion of No. 2, all the way to the eerie sadness and desolation of No. 6 … a fine achievement … the performance of the 6th and last quartet is quietly devastating.

Bartók: String Quartets Nos. 1-6

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