Dvorak: String Quartet No. 13 in G major, Op. 106 (B192)

"I’m satisfied. It went quickly... " Antonín Dvořák jotted down at the end of the sketch for his String Quartet Op. 96. The work, one of the most beautiful quartet pieces in the history of music, originated in America hard on the heels of the “New World” Symphony. I wanted to write for once something very melodious and simple, and I always kept Papa Haydn before my eyes. The American critics lavished it with praise: “Why didn’t Dvořák come here earlier, since he can write such great music in America.” The “American” quartet, and, perhaps to an even greater extent, the subsequent quartet, Op. 106, the first composition Dvořák created after his return from America, are a heartfelt matter for the youthful Pavel Haas Quartet.

In the wake of the previous, highly acclaimed recordings of the complete quartet works of Janáček, Haas and Prokofiev (Classic FM Gramophone Award, BBC Music Magazine Award, MIDEM Cannes Classical Award, etc.), the ensemble displays its outstanding qualities performing the paramount Dvořák pieces too: equilibrium between precision and spontaneity, remarkable interplay and the “solo” potential of all the musicians.

The most popular Dvořák’s chamber repertoire performed by one of the world’s most exciting string quartets.

San Francisco-based Cypress String Quartet debut on Avie with its namesake work, Dvorak's Cypresses, coupled with the composer's expansive G major Quartet, No. 13.

The San Francisco-based Cypress String Quartet, known equally for its innovation and its elegant performances, debuts on Avie with a recording of its namesake work, Dvorak's Cypresses, a set of twelve love songs scored for string quartet, coupled with the composer's expansive G major Quartet, No. 13. Known internationally through touring and a dozen acclaimed recordings, the Cypress String Quartet traverses repertoire from J.S. Bach - the composer with which the foursome forged their signature, clear and transparent sound - to world-premieres of works they have commissioned from such composers as Jennifer Higdon, Kevin Puts and Elena Ruehr.

In addition to appearances in such renowned venues as the Kennedy Center, the Ravinia Festival and Cal Performances, the Quartet reaches out to new audiences through regular performances in community centres, unorthodox spaces, and schools. The Cypress String Quartet's Avie debut, the first in a projected series of recordings, will support the release with a tour featuring Dvorak's Cypresses, numerous broadcasts and a dynamic online and social media presence.

The Cecilia String Quartet won First Prize in the 2010 Banff International String Quartet Competition.

“The balance between expressiveness and interplay was almost dauntingly perfect” Berliner Zeitung

This is their debut CD.

Two scores that frame the period when the composer of the famous 'American’ Quartet (No.12) was in his prime. Combining rhythmic invention, bright colours, only dimmed by the importance of the viola part, and a spontaneous melodic outpouring that contrasts with the absorbing melancholy of the slow movements, they give voice to a happy idiom despite the number of personal dramas the composer had undergone. Elements of folk nationalism pervade reminding us of a people that was going to become a nation once again in 1918.

Dvorák’s string quartets – 14 of them in all – cover the range of his career. While his earlier chamber works are often formally experimental and tonally ambitious, the quartets of his maturity are assured masterworks, even if now they are – with one exception – less well known than their craftsmanship and richness of invention palpably demonstrate that they deserve to be. Three of the four quartets on this compilation date from Dvorˇák’s late ‘American’ period and shortly afterwards. They move with mastery through melodies that could be heard as having an authentically ‘American’ tang, or indeed a flavour of the oldworld Bohemia for which the composer felt so nostalgic - and to which he would return before the last of these works, after a dispute over money with his patron.

The Guarneri Quartet were remarkable both for their longevity and their consistency of achievement until their retirement in 2007. They were a smoothly integrated ensemble almost from the start of their association in 1961, as a record executive recognised when he went to one of their early concerts and quickly signed them up. They went on to record all the standard repertoire of the genre and much more besides, and with a sweetness worthy of the instruments of their eponymous violin-maker’s name.

These are live performances by world-class artists. The two featured works are very different in style and were composed 17 years apart. The performance features a top lineup of soloists including Sharon Kam.