Beethoven: String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op. 18 No. 6

Separated by some 25 years, the Quartet in B flat major (op.18 no.6) and its fellow in A minor (op.132) give an insight into the unique trajectory of an extraordinary composer who left his mark on each of the genres he tackled. The Quatuor Terpsycordes follow their 'Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross' with these two Beethoven Quartets played on a set of instruments by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, on loan from the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire in Geneva. Their idea was to tackle this repertoire in the light of instruments set up in a manner corresponding to the period of composition, following the course of history and stylistic development. This new disc of op.132 is the first to have been made on instruments set up in period style, and the first to have been recorded on gut strings.

Founded in 1997 and based in Geneva, the Quatuor Terpsycordes was taught by Gábor Takács-Nagy before receiving advanced training from members of the Budapest, Hagen, LaSalle and Mosaïques quartets.

Violin (093333), Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, Paris, between 1850 and 1860 One of the six copies Vuillaume made of the ‘Guarneri del Gesù’ instrument which once belonged to Nicolò Paganini.

The Guarneri original is now in a museum in Genoa.

Violin (018403), Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, Paris, 1861 This is a copy of the Stradivarius known as the ‘Messiah’ owned by Vuillaume, who later passed it on to his son-in-law, the violinist Delphin Alard. The original is now in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

Viola (BG 0009), Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, Paris This is clearly a copy of a Guarneri del Gesù.

Cello (BG 0010), Nicolas-François Vuillaume, Brussels, 1861

An exact copy of the Stradivarius that belonged to the French cellist Adrien-François Servais, built in the spirit of the workshop of Jean-Baptiste, with whom Nicolas-François worked before moving to Brussels.

The Sacconi Quartet presents a new recording of three of Beethoven’s masterful early string quartets. The Opus 18 quartets (Nos 1, 4 and 6) appear on the third release on the Quartet’s own label, Sacconi Records. The disc is released upon the recent completion of the Sacconi Quartets’ two year Beethoven Cycle, performed in the UK at both the Canterbury Festival and Music at St Peter’s, Wallingford.

This set of six works, published as Opus 18 in 1801, were Beethoven’s first attempt at writing for the string quartet. Beginning these early masterpieces, the 28 year old Beethoven was already known for his virtuosic improvisations and remarkable musicianship. In these quartets he not only demonstrates his skill and mastery of the medium as developed by Haydn and Mozart, but also explores new musical territory, anticipating later developments in his compositional style.

The F major quartet (Op.18 No.1) is a masterpiece in brilliance and vitality, with a slow movement that contains some of the most sensitive and tragic writing of his earlier works.

In Op.18 No.4 in C minor, Beethoven moves towards a more concerto-like format and the first violin dominates in this vibrant and atmospheric piece. The final quartet of the set, Op.18 No.6 in B flat major is a work of extreme contrasts, and the slow introduction to the last movement, La Malinconia, is a celebrated passage of profound originality.

The Sacconi Quartet is one of the UK's leading string quartets. Since its formation at the Royal College of Music in 2001, it has established a secure and substantial reputation. The Quartet is recognised for its unanimous and compelling ensemble, performing with style and commitment and consistently communicating with a fresh and imaginative approach. Its four founder members demonstrate a shared passion for string quartet repertoire, infectiously reaching out to audiences with their energy and enthusiasm. Over the past decade they have enjoyed a highly successful international career, performing regularly throughout Europe, at London’s major venues, in recordings and radio broadcasts.

Beethoven remains the ultimate test for a string quartet; with their ongoing complete cycle for Virgin Classics, the Artemis Quartet are rising to the challenge.

‘The Artemis String Quartet makes chamber music spectacular: the quartet's playing is polished and precise but at the same time spontaneous, fresh and explosive as though the music is being improvised on the spot. Even the physical motions involved with the bowing are beautifully choreographed to reflect the mood of the music.’ The Enquirer

The Quartet’s debut release on the label in 2005 comprised Beethoven’s op 59/1 and op 95, followed by the second release in 2008 in the cycle bringing together op 59/2, the ‘Razumovsky’ Quartet, and the Quartet op 18/4 and which also introduced the ensemble’s latest members, Gregor Sigl (violin) and Friedemann Weigle (viola). The interpretations were warmly welcomed: in France, the release was named CHOC of the Year by Le Monde de la Musique and was also awarded a Diapason d’Or, while in Germany the recording was chosen as Chamber Music Recording of the Year in the the ECHO Klassik awards of the Deutsche Phono-Akademie. In the UK, the influential Sunday Times singled out the release, praising the “fresh, positive responses” of the Artemis Quartet: “ … their colours are vivid and they are alert to the music’s intent to push all sorts of boundaries to breaking point.”

During the past ten years the Quartetto di Cremona has matured into a string quartet of international renown, combining the Italian culture of string playing with an awareness of historical performance practice.

Having for many years performed at the great international halls, it is often regarded as the successor to the famous Quartetto Italiano. The musical style of the Quartetto di Cremona is marked by a fruitful tension between Italian and

German-Austrian influences: Following their academic studies the players continued their training with Piero Farulli of the Quartetto Italiano. He strongly favoured intuitive playing and a fervent, emotional, romantic and 'Italian' approach to music. Afterwards the musicians pursued their studies with Hatto Beyerle of the Alban Berg Quartet who represents a clear, classical, 'Austro-German' style, focusing on faithfulness to the original, form and structure as a basis for musical interpretation and inspiration. Both teachers have left a lasting impression on the quartet and significantly influenced its musical style. The players naturally unite both poles, combining boisterous enthusiasm with a distinct sense for musical architecture, cultivating the fusion of structure and xpression, external shape and internal passion.

With the three works contained in Volume 1, the Quartetto di Cremona covers the most important periods of Beethoven’s quartet oeuvre. The final of the six Op. 18 Quartets features a mysteriously programmatic dimension in its last

movement, “La Malinconia”, whereas Op. 95 from Beethoven’s middle period is both highly compact yet dramatically gripping. The disc closes with Beethoven’s final Quartet, Op. 135, completed in Vienna one year before his death: it differs from his less easily approachable late works in taking on a conciliatory stance.

The release of this two-disc set completes the Budapest String Quartet's historic Beethoven string quartet cycle, recorded at the Library of Congress's Coolidge Auditorium. Both the middle and late Quartets from this cycle (BRIDGE9099A/C and BRIDGE9072A/C) have frequently been cited as among the finest recordings ever made of Beethoven's singular masterpieces. The present recordings of Beethoven's six Op. 18 quartets were selected from performances given during the Budapest's 22-year long residency at the Library. In addition to the six quartets, a short track drawn from a Budapest String Quartet rehearsal (1944) is included on disc two.

The Zemlinsky Quartet, trained by the Czech school and acclaimed by the Viennese, offer three famous quartets of the first Viennese School, which are still reference works of the genre more than two centuries after their first performances.