Serenade. Moderato con moto - Pochissimo più mosso -
6:19
Allegro - Andante sostenuto
String Quartet No.8, Op.66 (1959)
15:29
in One Movement
in C major • in C-Dur • en ut majeur
Dem Borodin-Quartett gewidmet
10.
Adagio - Andante - Adagio -
7:22
11.
Allegretto - Allegro - Allegretto -
5:45
12.
Doppio più lento - Andante
2:21
Total time: 68:24
Chamber: Arcadia Quartet
Ana Török violin
Rasvan Dumitru violin
Tralan Boala viola
Zsolt Török cello
Notes
The seventeen string quartets of Weinberg span nearly half a century, from his student days in Warsaw to the end of his career in Moscow, and show his development as a composer more clearly than his work in any other genre. The Second Quartet, composed in 1939 – 40 whilst studying in Minsk, was dedicated to his mother and sister, who he would later learn had not survived the German invasion of Poland. Quartet No. 5, of 1945, was the first in which he added titles to each movement, and reflects the influence of Shostakovich over the young composer. The final quartet in this programme – No. 8 – was written in 1959 and dedicated to the Borodin Quartet. For many years the best-known of Weinberg’s quartets in the west, this single-movement work is divided into three sections with a coda. The Arcadia Quartet is a passionate advocate for these quartets, writing: ‘[Weinberg’s] music is like a glow of light surrounded by the darkness of the unknown, and it quickly became a goal of ours to attempt to dilute these shadows. With every recording and every live performance of his music, we intend to shine some light on this wide ranging, profound phenomenon, which has remained overlooked for so long, and we hope that, with time, Mieczyslaw Weinberg will take his rightful place in the history of music.’
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Reviews
Chamber music category – Nominee
International Classical Music Awards 2022
Critics’ Choice 2021 – Stephen Estep
American Record Guide – January/February 2022
“… This is the first volume of a new Vainberg quartet cycle; the playing is brilliant… This promises to be an exciting series!”
Stephen Estep – American Record Guide – July/August 2021
“…The Arcadian Quartet find plenty of passion and expressive contrast in these works, more so on the whole than their recorded predecessors. They play with bracing commitment, and the sound engineer puts just the right amount of space around them. If you want to sample Weinberg’s string quartets, this is the place to start.”
Phillip Scott – Fanfare – May/June 2021
Recommended
“… joy comes through clearly in their [Arcadia Quartet] performance; their enthusiasm for this music is clear to hear in their strongly articulated, nuanced and inspired playing. Their performance explores the wide-ranging dynamics of Weinberg’s music while displaying their admiration for it. If they are new to Weinberg’s music, it does not show in their detailed and well measured performance which gives the listener great hope for the coming volumes in the series. If you do not know Weinberg, this recording is a good place to start, and with a performance like this by the Arcadia Quartet you cannot go wrong.”
Stuart Sillitoe – MusicWeb-International.com – 28 April 2021
“… The players’ warmth and engagement is never in doubt, amplified by the generous sonics associated with the Chandos label…” ****
David Gutman – ClassicalSource.com – 22 March 2021
The Strad Recommends
“Eloquent album that ought to shift this neglected music into the mainstream… These are living, breathing performances, even if made in the studio (the Potton Hall recording captures everything with warmth and clarity), and make one impatient for the next instalment.”
Matthew Rye – The Strad – March 2021
“… What cannot be denied is the immaculate ensemble of the Arcadia – which, along with a wellnigh perfect balance and David Fanning’s insightful notes, makes this first instalment a tempting proposition for those new to the cycle.”
Richard Whitehouse – Gramophone magazine – March 2021
Performance ***** Recording *****
“… The Arcadia’s evident enthusiasm for the music is perfectly conveyed here with playing that maximises the emotional range explored in each work, as well as exploiting to the full the music’s tonal textural varieties and its underlying sense of unease…”
Erik Levi – BBC Music magazine – February 2021
“… this very engaging new set [String Quartets] prove to be essential listening for admirers of the composer — particularly when as stunningly played as here. The seventeen string quartets of Weinberg span nearly half a century, from his student days in Warsaw to the end of his career in Moscow, and show his development as a composer more clearly than his work in any other genre.”
Barry Forshaw – cdchoice.co.uk – 29 January 2021
“… That the four musicians certainly have the tools to present these works adequately is undeniable. They do not rush through the works, but they penetrate them intellectually and present the form of the works in a well-dosed manner. But they also don’t fail to get emotionally involved either... this recording at the start of the complete series offers a more than successful performance of the works of this composer. The quality of the recorded sound is not inferior.” *****
Uwe Krusch – Pizzicato.com.lu – 19 January 2021
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