Mendelssohn: String Quartets Nos. 5 & 6

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The E flat major is given a bright and tender account, with balances judged finely, whether between the instruments or between the myriad emotions that flash through its fizzing duration…the... — BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2016, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 30th Sep 2016
Catalogue No: BIS2160
Label: BIS
Length: 71 minutes

BBC Music Magazine

Chamber Choice

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Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 44 No. 3

Work length34:56

$6.05

$10.35

$14.00

Escher String Quartet
Recorded: May 2015
Recording Venue: Potton Hall, Suffolk, England

I. Allegro vivace

Track length13:23

$2.05

$3.85

$5.25

II. Scherzo. Assai leggiero vivace

Track length4:09

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

III. Adagio non troppo

Track length8:37

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

IV. Molto Allegro con fuoco

Track length8:47

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

Excerpt, Mendelssohn: Four pieces for String Quartet, Op. 81

Work length10:50

$2.00

$2.60

$3.50

Escher String Quartet
Recorded: May 2015
Recording Venue: Potton Hall, Suffolk, England

No. 3, Capriccio, MWV R 32

Track length5:41

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

No. 4, Fugue, MWV R 23

Track length5:09

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80

Work length25:25

$5.00

$7.80

$10.50

Escher String Quartet
Recorded: May 2015
Recording Venue: Potton Hall, Suffolk, England

I. Allegro vivace assai

Track length7:06

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

II. Allegro assai

Track length4:16

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

III. Adagio

Track length7:55

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

IV. Finale. Allegro molto

Track length6:08

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

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The Escher Quartet opened their traversal of Mendelssohn’s string quartets with the first and the fourth quartets, along with an unnumbered early work in E flat major, on a disc which the reviewer in The Strad summed up as a ‘A deeply rewarding release … and by any standards a distinguished one’. The same magazine made the sequel – with the second and third quartets – its recommendation in the November issue of 2015. On the third and final disc in the series, time has come for the two last quartets, as well as the Capriccio and Fugue from the Op. 81 set of Four Pieces for String Quartet begun on the previous instalment. The String Quartet No. 5 in E flat major belongs to the three quartets composed in 1837-38 as Op. 44 and is often considered a masterpiece of the genre. Ever modest, Mendelssohn himself recommended the set to his friend, the pianist Ignaz Moscheles, with the words: ‘there are one or two amongst them I am pleased with myself, and I should like to know that I am right, and that you too are satisfied with them’. Published posthumously, the Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80 holds a special place in Mendelssohn’s list of works: not only is it one of his very last compositions, but the breath-taking work is the direct and heartfelt response to the unexpected death of his beloved sister Fanny. ‘The impassioned character of the entire work seems to me to be in keeping with his [Mendelssohn’s] profoundly unsettled state of mind’, Moscheles noted in his diary after having heard the quartet at the composer’s home on 5th October 1847. A month later, after suffering a number of strokes, Mendelssohn died.

Reviews

Christmas 2016

The E flat major is given a bright and tender account, with balances judged finely, whether between the instruments or between the myriad emotions that flash through its fizzing duration…the Escher Quartet’s playing [in the F minor] is full of propulsive intensity that never stints on anguish, but they manage to keep their lightness of touch, letting the music make its points with swift, pure directness…a wonderful disc

December 2016

They combine highly disciplined playing, communicative warmth and a clear empathy for the composer in hand…it is impossible not to be impressed by the verve and precision with which the Escher launch into the last quartet…the Capriccio has a real lilt, while the Fugue possesses tremendous clarity and a sense of reactivity between the players

14th December 2016

Highly accomplished playing, captured with stunning immediacy.

8th September 2016

fabulous unanimity, tonal warmth and care over detail...All the performances are very fine, but the Escher’s account of Op 81 is truly exceptional, driven by an intensity, and a scarcely concealed rage, that grips the music from the thrilling opening of the first movement and never slackens throughout.

Mendelssohn: String Quartets Nos. 5 & 6

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