Schönberg: STRING QUARTET D MAJOR / STRING QUARTET OP 7

On this CD:

1. String Quartet in D major
Composed by Arnold Schoenberg

2. String Quartet No. 1, in D minor, Op. 7
Composed by Arnold Schoenberg

Tracks:

String quartet no.1 in D minor, op.7: Nicht zu rasch - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.1 in D minor, op.7: Kraftig - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.1 in D minor, op.7: Massig - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.1 in D minor, op.7: Massig - heiter - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.2 in F sharp minor, op.10: Massig (Moderato) - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.2 in F sharp minor, op.10: Sehr rasch - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.2 in F sharp minor, op.10: Litanei. Langsam - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.2 in F sharp minor, op.10: Entruckung. Sehr langsam - Arnold Schoenberg

Tracks:

String quartet no.3, op.30: Moderato - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.3, op.30: Adagio - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.3, op.30: Intermezzo: Allegro moderato - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.3, op.30: Rondo: Molto moderato - Arnold Schoenberg
String Quartet No.4, Op.37: Allegro molto; Energico - Arnold Schoenberg
String Quartet No.4, Op.37: Comodo - Arnold Schoenberg
String Quartet No.4, Op.37: Largo - Arnold Schoenberg
String Quartet No.4, Op.37: Allegro - Arnold Schoenberg

Tracks:

String Quartet In D Major: Allegro molto - Anton Webern
String Quartet In D Major: Intermezzo. Andantino grazioso - Anton Webern
String Quartet In D Major: Andante con moto - Anton Webern
String Quartet In D Major: Allegro - Anton Webern
Satze, op.5: Heftig bewegt - Anton Webern
Satze, op.5: Sehr langsam - Anton Webern
Satze, op.5: Sehr bewegt - Anton Webern
Satze, op.5: Sehr langsam - Anton Webern
Satze, op.5: In zarter Bewegung - Anton Webern
String quartet - Anton Webern
6 Bagatellen, op.9: Massig - Anton Webern
6 Bagatellen, op.9: Leicht bewegt - Anton Webern
6 Bagatellen, op.9: Ziemlich fliessend - Anton Webern
6 Bagatellen, op.9: : Sehr langsam - Anton Webern
6 Bagatellen, op.9: Ausserst langsam - Anton Webern
6 Bagatellen, op.9: Fliessend - Anton Webern
String quartet, op.28: Massig - Anton Webern
String quartet, op.28: Gemachlich - Anton Webern
String quartet, op.28: Sehr fliessend - Anton Webern

Tracks:

Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Allegretto gioviale - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Andante amoroso - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Allegro misterioso - Trio estatico - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Adagio appassionato - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Presto delirando - Tenebroso - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Largo desolato - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
String Quartet, Op.3: Langsam - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
String Quartet, Op.3: Massige Viertel - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN

Customer Reviews:

An essential collection.......2005-07-12

This collection of music for string quartet by the Second Viennese School can now be said to have classical status. The LaSalle Quartet succeed fully in communicating the emotional, spiritual and intellectual depths the three composers of this school -Schönberg, Berg and Webern - commanded. Above all, these composers were through and through Viennese and these recordings show just how much their music grew out a continuum with the tradition handed down to them from Schubert, Beethoven, and Brahms.

First of all take the Second String Quartet by Schönberg with its fusion of the Quartet with the Lied. I have heard several versions of this, but none more beautiful than that sung by Margaret Price here. The otherworldly introspection and subtly visionary qualities of the music come across abundently. Yet at every moment the sense of the inheritance of the Viennese tradition remains omnipresent in the writing. Adorno thought this was the greatest thing Schönberg ever wrote and more than any other interpretion this one shows why Adorno might have thought that. It is a work of transcendent beauty that will appeal to lot of listeners, especially those who normally find Second Viennese School 'too difficult'. To have this along with the entire set of four quartets plus works by Berg and Webern is truly an embarrassment of riches!

The Webern pieces here are characterised by the Angst ridden darkness of their mood as well as their poignant brevity. These works were composed at a time when nearly every work was a response to the death of his mother - an event of enormous emotional impact for Webern. In this sense, the autobiographical elements recall the symphonies of Gustav Mahler, of whose music Webern was a powerful interpreter. Indeed, Berg even called him the greatest Mahler conductor since Mahler.

The thing that really makes this recording an essential set for every serious music lover's collection is the very substantial booklet that comes with this set. It is virtually a book rather than a booklet and is highly authoratative. I can only praise Deutsche Gramophon for maintaining their availability.

ABSOLUTELY THE BEST REALIZATIONS OF THE SECOND VIENNESE!!.......2005-01-31

I can't believe this set is out of print: QUICKLY buy it from a Marketplace vendor!!

It's really the best set of realizations of the Second Viennese School's essays in that most important of art-music genres, the string quartet. The LaSalle SQ's razor-sharp, crystal-clear interpretations of these exquisite oeuvre have not been surpassed.

Highly recommended!

Best chamber music ever from the so-called "atonal" school!.......2004-10-01

Arnold Schoenberg complained towards the end of his life that he had been forever saddled with the label of the man who had invented the so-called twelve-tone system of composition. He emphasized he was a composer first and foremost and the methods he employed were irrelevant to the discussion, and he was right. Tonal or atonal or twelve-tone, his music, together with that of his students and colleagues Alban Berg and Anton von Webern, was that of profound beauty and brilliance and wonder. The LaSalle Quartet brings to life almost a dozen works here: the four numbered Quartets by Schoenberg as well as an early work in that form he had written; Berg's early Quartet Op. 3 and the Lyric Suite; Webern's Five Pieces and Six Bagatelles for Quartet and the Quartet Op. 28 plus an early Slow Movement for Quartet, almost a one-movement Quartet in itself. The performances are unsurpassed and absolutely nobody who enjoys music from the 20th Century should be without this in their collection of chamber music. I first heard this while it was available on LP 28 years ago. It was stunning then and it is stunning now.

this is one of the best.......2000-06-17

This recording has been in the catalogue for a long time and has won numerous awards in Europe, and deservedly so. Artistically they can stand comparison with any of their competitors, including the old mono set of the Schoenberg quartets done by the Hollywood Quartet as a gift to the composer (for which he added a note of thanks and admiration). The sound quality has always been very fine. The documentation is equal in length and depth of analysis to a short book and is worthy of 6 stars. The original release on LPs, when I first heard it, was packaged in a large box set that would normally have been sufficient to contain the complete Beethoven symphonies; the extra room was needed just for the booklet. This is not easy music but is definitely worth the effort. Highest recommendation.

"Webern a la Schubert".......2000-01-05

The much underrated LaSalle Quartet gives loving performances in this now famous box-set. This quartet was long known for it's interpretations of the music of the Second Viennese School, and it's good to have these performances remain in the catalogue. Important also is the inclusion of the fascinating (and lengthy) theoretical study in the booklet.

Tracks:

Kolisch Quartet - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt I Massig - Kolisch Quartet
MVT 2 Sehr Rasch - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 3 Litanei Langsam - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 4 Entrueckung - Kolisch Quartet
Schoenberg - Kolisch Quartet

Tracks:

Mvt I Moderato - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 2 Adagio - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 3 Intermezzo, Allegro Moderato - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 4 Rondo, Molto Moderato - Kolisch Quartet
Schoenberg Speaks - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt I Allegro Molto Energico - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 2 Comodo - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 3 Largo - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 4 Allegro - Kolisch Quartet

Tracks:

Mvt 1 Moderato - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 2 Adagio - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 3 Intermezzo - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 4 Rondo, Molto Moderato - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt I Allegro Gioviale - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt Andante Amoroso - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 3 Allegro Misterioso. Trio Estatico - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 4 Adagio Appassionato - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 5 Presto Delirando Tenebroso - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 6 Largo Desolato - Pro Arte Quartet

Tracks:

Mvt 1 Poco Allegro - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 2 Adante Grazioso - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 3 Finale. Allegro - Pro Arte Quartet
Kolisch Interview - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt I Temp Di Ciaccona - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 2 Fuga. Risoluto, Non Troppo Vivo - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 3 Melodia. Adagio - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 4 Presto - Pro Arte Quartet

Tracks:

Mvt I Allegro - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 2 Adagio Molto - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 3 Scherzo - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 4 Andante - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 5 Finale. Allegro Vivace - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Schoenberg: Fantasie, Op.47 - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt I Allegro Molto - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 2 Intermezzo. Andantino Grazioso - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 3 Andante Con Moto - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 4 Allegro/ Presto - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin

Tracks:

Mvt I Heftig Bewegt - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 2 Sehr Langsam - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 3 Sehr Bewegt - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 4 Sehr Langsam - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 5 in Zarter Bewegung - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
I Massig - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
II Leichtbewegt - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
III Ziemlich Fliessend - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
IV Sehr Langsam - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
V Ausserst Langsam - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
VI Fliessend - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt ! Adagio - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 2 Adagio - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 3 Allegro - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 4 Andante - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 5 Menuetto - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 6 Andante Molto- Allegro - Kolisch Quartet

Customer Reviews:

Historical Documents For Specialists & Collectors.......2005-06-17

This Music & Arts CD set (6 discs for the price of four) contains what can be rightly regarded as "urtext" performances of Schoenberg, Berg, Webern and Bartok. It is in honor of a modern music pioneer, Rudolph Kolisch (1896-1978), the Austrian violinist whose sister was married to Schoenberg. Due to an accident as a boy that cost him about half the middle finger on his left hand, Kolisch became a violinist who bowed with his left hand and played with his right. Obviously he could not play in an orchestra without inflicting damage, so Kolisch dedicated his career to chamber music, primarily of the New Vienna School.

Amazon has only displayed the musical tracks here without identifying the works. There is so much here that I can only address the contents with brief remarks. Despite extremely variable sound, there are some genuine treasures in this set. They will surely appeal to anyone who is interested in the history of performance practice and in hearing how Kolisch and his associates interpreted these works, several of which they premiered. This set comes with a 47 page booklet that includes an appreciation of Kolisch by pianist Russell Sherman (who studied with Schoenberg pupil Eduard Steuermann), an encylopedic and illuminating essay by Tully Potter on the Kolisch Quartet (and the later Pro Arte Quartet led by Kolisch), and extensive notes on the music itself, much of it written by another Schoenberg pupil (conductor Rene Leibowitz).

CDs 1 & 2 contain the first-ever 1936-37 recordings of Schoenberg's four string quartets (composed 1905, 1908, 1927 & 1936) by the Kolisch Quartet (Rudolf Kolisch, Felix Khuner, Eugen Lehner, and Benar Heifetz, with soprano Clemence Gifford in #2). Included are two brief speeches by Schoenberg. These recordings were sponsored by the wealthy film composer Alfred Newman for the purpose of preserving Schoenberg's works and Kolisch's interpretations for posterity. They were issued on private edition 78 rpm discs, and (not mentioned in the notes) they were briefly available on 4 ALCO LPs in the 1950's. I saw that extremely rare set for the first time recently in San Franciso at a collector shop that has a thriving mail-order business overseas. The asking price: $500! So if the music interests you, this M&A set is a genuine bargain! These performances have also been issued on the Swiss CD label Archiphon, but reportedly the transfers are poorly-pitched and overly-filtered.

CD 3 has 1950 recordings of Schoenberg's 3rd Quartet and Berg's Lyric Suite by the Pro Arte Quartet of the Univ. of Wisconsin (Kolisch, Rahier, Milofsky, & Fiedlander) that were once on the Dial LP label.

CD 4 features a "live" 1967 recording of the Schoenberg Violin Concerto with Kolisch and the Wisconsin Festival Orchestra conducted by Leibowitz, an 8 minute interview with Kolisch, and a 1966 live Kolisch performance of the Bartok Sonata for Solo Violin (I regard this disc as an utterly essential item). My other favorites here: Krasner/Mitropoulos (Columbia LP) in the Schoenberg, and Robert Mann's incredible Bartok (available on the internet for $17 from Bartok Records).

CD 5 has a 1945 recording of the Pro Arte Quartet playing Bartok's 5th String Quartet, a 1966 account of the Schoenberg Fantasie (Kolisch with pianist Gunnar Johansen), and the early & unnumbered (1897) Schoenberg String Quartet in D major (Pro Arte Quartet 1952). The latter work is atypical: it sounds very Brahmsian, with a dash of Dvorakian melody tossed in.

CD 6 has three 1950 Pro Arte items that were originally on Dial LPs: Webern's Five Movements for String Quartet op. 5 and Six Bagatelles for String Quartet op. 9, plus a "live" 1940 reading by the Kolisch Quartet & friends of Schubert's Octet. The latter is rather poorly-played and utterly lacks the old world charm of the wonderful Vienna Konzerthaus (Preiser CD).

My own journey to appreciating Schoenberg was a rocky climb. My piano teacher (from age 9 to age 18) regarded Schoenberg as the Devil incarnate who ruined Western music. I also studied viola for a few years with a teacher who held Schoenberg in utter contempt. And my college girlfriend's viola teacher was Robert Gross (a Hindemith pupil), and he was no Schoenberg fan either. But in 1970 I heard Lorin Maazel & the New Philharmonia (on my first visit to Carnegie Hall) perform the Op. 31 Variations for Orchestra, and I was simply astonished at the work's power & genius. In general, I find Berg & Webern easier to listen to, but Schoenberg's music in sympathetic performances is quite simply superb.

Probably the easiest place to start is with Schoenberg's tonal works like Verklarte Nacht (try Stokowski's on a Bridge CD or the original sextet version by the Hollywood Quartet on Testament), his Chamber Symphonies (#1 with Scherchen on Tahra, and #2 with Prausnitz on EMI - see my review of the latter), and Gurrelieder (my favorite is still the old Leibowitz on Preiser CD, despite rough playing & mono sound - its wonderful singers included Richard Lewis and Ethel Semser). Unfortunately, my favorite performance of the marvelous "Pierrot Lunaire" (Semser with Leibowitz) is on a long-gone Westminster LP. The piano works are also very gratifying, especially as done by Steurermann (Columbia LP), Jacobs (Nonesuch CD), and Helffer (a superb Harmonia Mundi 3-CD set that also has piano pieces by Debussy & Bartok).

While the sound of this M&A set is saddled with often noisy originals (the best-sounding items are the ones taken from Dial LPs), the performances here are revelatory. Once heard several times, the Schoenberg string quartets are very nearly as accessible as Bartok's (although the latter's are resolutely tonal, and their over-all superiority is, to my ears, partly a function of greater rhythmic drive & folk music elements). The dreamy and haunting Quartet #2 is unique for its use of a soprano voice (excellently sung here). All in all, I still prefer the greater virtuosity of the Juilliard Quartet's magnificent 1950's set (with soprano Uta Graf) on wonderful-sounding mono Columbia LPs that disgracefully remain in LP limbo. But I DEFINITELY will keep these Kolisch readings. Likewise, I still prefer the Juilliard's recordings of the Bartok Quartets from 1950 (Pearl CD - see my review) & from 1963 (out of print Columbia LPs). The Juilliard's Schoenberg & Bartok cycles strike me as the very finest modern music quartet recordings ever made.

The Berg Lyric Suite here joins the extraordinary 1936 Galimir Quartet's (coupled on a Testament CD with Louis Krasner's greatest-ever Berg Violin Concerto, with the BBC Symphony conducted by Anton Webern) and the mono RCA LP version with the Juilliard as the work's finest-ever accounts. I have never heard Schoenberg's Violin Concerto sound so ingratiatingly like Berg's concerto as it is here with Kolisch & Leibowitz (despite rather poor sound and occasional slips by Kolisch - he was age 70!). And Bartok's solo violin sonata, played with the last mvt. microtone harmonics that were edited out by Menuhin (who commissioned it) is spellbinding, despite some rough playing (it reminds me of Enesco's mesmerizing Bach recorded when he was old and suffering from arthritis). The interview with Kolisch about this last work is fascinating.

If you have difficulty in digesting the 12-tone method, as many people do, here's a simple suggestion: buy or rent the DVD of Nicholas Ray's superb film "Rebel Without A Cause," starring the short-lived James Dean. It's visually brilliant (Ray's use of the color red is downright iconic) and the music, especially in the Planetarium sequence, is utterly riveting. The film's music was composed by Leonard Rosenman (pupil of Schoenberg & Sessions), and nearly the entire score is in the manner of Berg and Schoenberg! Gorgeous recorded excerpts from Rebel & Rosenman's score for East of Eden can be heard on a Nonesuch CD (see my review). Another illuminating resource is the 2002 book "Arnold Schoenberg's Journey" by Allen Shawn (available at Amazon).

This set's old sound will likely be of limited appeal to general listeners. But for collectors & specialists in this music, what is heard here will be an enduring source of wonder and inspiration.

Highly recommended to the curious few.

Jeff Lipscomb

Arnold Schoenberg: Chamber Music for Strings

Average customer rating:

Essential recording

Arnold Schoenberg: Chamber Music for Strings
Taco Kooistra , Viola de Hoog , Arnold Schoenberg , Sepp Grothenhuis , Susan Narucki , Henk Guittart , Jan Erik van Regteren , Janneke van der Meer , and Schoenberg Quartet
Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Sextets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Complete Webern
Alban Berg Collection / Various (Coll)
Schoenberg: Piano Works
Schoenberg: Piano Concerto
Arnold Schoenberg: Serenade/Five Pieces For Orchestra

ASIN: B00005NVG9
Release Date: 2001-09-25

Tracks:

String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7: Nicht zu rasch
String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7: Kraftig (nicht zu rasch)
String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7: MaBig, langsame Viertel
String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7: Mabig, heiter
String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30: Moderato
String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30: Adagio
String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30: Intermezzo. Allegro moderato
String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30: Rondo. Molto moderato

Tracks:

String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10: MaBig
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10: Sehr rasch
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10: Litanei
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10: Entrucking
String Quartet No. 4, Op. 37: Allegro molto; energico
String Quartet No. 4, Op. 37: Comodo
String Quartet No. 4, Op. 37: Largo
String Quartet No. 4, Op. 37: Allegro

Tracks:

Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Sehr langsam
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: (C)
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Schwer betont
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Sehr breit und langsam
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Sehr ruhig
Phantasy For Violin With Piano Accompaniment, Op. 47
Ode To Napoleon Buonaparte, Op. 41

Tracks:

String Trio, Op. 45: Part 1
String Trio, Op. 45: First Episode
String Trio, Op. 45: Part 2
String Trio, Op. 45: Second Episode
String Trio, Op. 45: Part 3
Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19: Leicht, zart
Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19: Langsam
Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19: Sehr langsame Viertel
Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19: Rasch, aber leicht
Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19: Etwas rasch
Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19: Sehr langsam
Quintet For Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon, Op. 26: Schwungvoli
Quintet For Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon, Op. 26: Anmutig und
Quintet For Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon, Op. 26: Etwas langsam.
Quintet For Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon, Op. 26: Rondo

Tracks:

String Quartet in D Major: Allegro molto
String Quartet in D Major: Intermezzo. Andantino grazioso
String Quartet in D Major: Andante con moto
String Quartet in D Major: Allegro-Presto
Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9: Langsam-Sehr rasch
Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9: Sehr rasch
Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9: Viel langsamer, aber doch flieBend
Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9: Viel langsamer
Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9: Schwungvoli
Concerto For String Quartet and Orchestra: Largo-Allegro
Concerto For String Quartet and Orchestra: Largo
Concerto For String Quartet and Orchestra: Allegretto grazioso
Concerto For String Quartet and Orchestra: Hornpipe. Moderato

Customer Reviews:

Essential recording.......2001-11-06

This is a monumental recording. It ended my search for a good performance of Schoenberg's complete string quartets. Compared for instance to the Arditti's version, which makes for a pretty "difficult" listen, hard on the ear and the brain, this one is pretty "easy". Let's not argue about the "romantic" or "modernist" points of vue which have plagued the Schoenberg issue for much too long. This boxed set is a mature rendition of some of the most essential works of the XXth century. The Schoenberg quartet provides excellent performance throughout (although their version of "Verklärte Nacht" might seem rather dark and lacking in contrast as compared to, say, the Boulez reading). This is Schoenberg beyond theory, this is, to put it simply, Schoenberg's music as Schoenberg himself might have wished to hear it. Thanks to the Schoenberg Quartet, the 21st century should see at last a vast audience starting to appreciate a body of work on a par with that of the greats which Schoenberg revered so much : Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms. Treat yourself to this one and relish in an adventure (while it still tastes like adventure).

Schönberg: STRING QUARTET D MAJOR / STRING QUARTET OP 7

Average customer rating:

Superb partnership
An Absolutely Wonderful Disc...

Schönberg: STRING QUARTET D MAJOR / STRING QUARTET OP 7

Manufacturer: MD&G Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00001W091
Release Date: 1999-10-19

Tracks:

String Quartet In D Major: Allegro molto
String Quartet In D Major: Intermezzo
String Quartet In D Major: Variations
String Quartet In D Major: Allegro
String Quartet In D Major No. 1 Op. 7: 1st Part
String Quartet In D Major No. 1 Op. 7: 2nd Part (Scherzo)
String Quartet In D Major No. 1 Op. 7: 3rd Part (Langsamer Satz)
String Quartet In D Major No. 1 Op. 7: 4th Part (Rondofinale)

Customer Reviews:

Superb partnership.......2007-05-10

This disc provides an excellent introduction to the incomparable work of the Leipzig Quartet's project on MDG to record the chamber music of the First and Second Viennese School. Seldom do great artists receive such outstanding recording engineering as MDG provides. Together, the quartet and the recording company are simply unbeatable.

Three members of the Leipzig Quartet were principals of the famed Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra when they formed the quartet in 1988 and decided in 1993 to devote themselves exclusively to chamber music. In their choice of both the older and the newer Vienna schools, they are clearly in their element. They perform with precision, warmth, and passion, and they are recorded in the most natural-sounding acoustic I've ever heard. Everyone involved in this entire endeavor deserves the highest accolades.

An Absolutely Wonderful Disc..........2005-01-31

This is a very wonderful disc, not only as Schoenberg's music alone, but as art-music ("classical music") of any kind.

Schoenberg's D major string quartet of 1897 is very fine music. It's very Brahmsian, with accents of Dvorak, yet wholly original and echt-Viennese. It entirely deserves to be better known and broadcast on FM radio, etc.

Schoenberg's d minor quartet--his offical No. 1--is a great piece full of fine music. It begins where late Beethoven left off with his late great quartets. The precedent of Lizst's b minor sonata in one "portmanteau" movement was not lost on Schoenberg.

This is a great disc: the performances are outstanding; the recorded sound, excellent.

Average customer rating:

Musiques à Orsay

Manufacturer: Valois
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Septets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000ACZV6G
Release Date: 2005-10-18

Tracks:

Ouverture (La Vie Parisienne) - Orchestre Philharmonique De Monte-Carlo
Chanson Boheme 'Les Tringles Des Sistres Tintaient' - Various Artists
Jeux D'eau - Huseyin Sermet
Les Angelus - Laurence Equilbey
L'Invitation Au Voyage - Bernard Kruysen
Introduction Et Allegro Pour Harpe - Various Artists
Pelleas Et Melisande, Act III Scene 1 - Various Artists
La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin (Preludes, Livre I) - Noel Lee
Fantasie Pour Violon Et Harpe Op.124 - Gerard Poulet
Clair De Lune, Op.46 - Bernard Kruysen
Sonate Pour Violon Et Piano En La Majeur (Allegretto Poco Mosso) - Annick Nicolas
Kaiswerwalzer Pour Quatuor A Cordes, Flute, Clarinette Et Piano - Various Artists
Histoire Du Soldat - Various Artists