Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets Vol. 2

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The chief characteristic of the Belcea Quartet's playing is, I would say, intensity...This is a major achievement, and though they will no doubt record these works again, it will always stand... — BBC Music Magazine, August 2013, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 22nd Apr 2013
Catalogue No: ZZT321
Label: Zigzag
Series: Belcea Quartet Complete Beethoven String Quartets
Length: 4 hours 47 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

August 2013

Disc of the Month

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 18 No. 3

Work length25:08

$5.00

$7.60

$10.20

Belcea Quartet
Recording Venue: Britten Studio, Snape, Aldeburgh Music, United Kingdom

I. Allegro

Track length7:59

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

II. Andante con moto

Track length7:41

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

III. Allegro

Track length3:12

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

IV. Presto

Track length6:16

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op. 18 No. 5

Work length27:59

$4.50

$6.80

$9.20

Belcea Quartet
Recording Venue: Britten Studio, Snape, Aldeburgh Music, United Kingdom

I. Allegro

Track length6:40

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

II. Menuetto - Trio

Track length4:56

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

III. Andante cantabile

Track length9:51

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

IV. Allegro

Track length6:32

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

Beethoven: Grosse Fuge in B flat major, Op. 133

Work length15:47

Album only

Belcea Quartet
Recording Venue: Britten Studio, Snape, Aldeburgh Music, United Kingdom

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59 No. 1 'Rasumovsky No. 1'

Work length40:54

$6.55

$9.95

$13.20

Belcea Quartet
Recording Venue: Britten Studio, Snape, Aldeburgh Music, United Kingdom

I. Allegro

Track length9:58

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

II. Allegro vivace e sempre scherzando

Track length9:13

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

III. Adagio molto e mesto

Track length13:36

$2.05

$3.05

$4.05

IV. Thème russe. Allegro

Track length8:07

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 8 in E minor, Op. 59 No. 2 'Rasumovsky No. 2'

Work length35:34

$5.55

$8.35

$11.20

Belcea Quartet
Recording Venue: Britten Studio, Snape, Aldeburgh Music, United Kingdom

I. Allegro

Track length9:37

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

II. Molto adagio

Track length13:52

$2.05

$3.05

$4.05

III. Allegretto

Track length6:43

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

IV. Finale. Presto

Track length5:22

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, Op. 74 'Harp'

Work length31:24

$5.50

$8.40

$11.20

Belcea Quartet
Recording Venue: Britten Studio, Snape, Aldeburgh Music, United Kingdom

I. Poco adagio - Allegro

Track length9:50

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

II. Adagio ma non troppo

Track length9:43

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

III. Presto

Track length4:49

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

IV. Allegretto con variazioni

Track length7:02

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130

Work length39:40

$8.00

$12.20

$16.30

Belcea Quartet
Recording Venue: Britten Studio, Snape, Aldeburgh Music, United Kingdom

I. Adagio ma non troppo - Allegro

Track length9:29

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

II. Presto

Track length1:52

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

III. Andante con moto, ma non troppo

Track length7:12

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

IV. Alla danza tedesca, allegro assai

Track length3:12

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

V. Cavatina, adagio molto espressivo

Track length7:18

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

VI. Finale. Allegro

Track length10:37

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132

Work length46:23

Album only

Belcea Quartet
Recording Venue: Britten Studio, Snape, Aldeburgh Music, United Kingdom

I. Allegro sostenuto - Allegro

Track length9:23

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

II. Allegro ma non tanto

Track length8:37

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

III. Molto adagio

Track length19:35

Album only

IV. Alla marcia, assai vivace

Track length8:48

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135

Work length24:38

$5.00

$7.60

$10.20

Belcea Quartet
Recording Venue: Britten Studio, Snape, Aldeburgh Music, United Kingdom

I. Allegretto

Track length6:16

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

II. Vivace

Track length3:10

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

III. Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo

Track length7:42

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

IV. Grave, ma non troppo tratto - Allegro

Track length7:30

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

About
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About

After the first volume released in October 2012, this second volume completes the cycle of Beethoven Quartets given simultaneously by the Belcea Quartet in concert and on disc. Recorded live, like its predecessor, in the superb concert hall conceived by Britten at Aldeburgh, this volume couples quartets from different periods, including the last two (opp.132 and 135) and the Grosse Fuge (op.133). Here is how the Belcea Quartet describes this great cycle: ‘These sixteen quartets written some two hundred years form one of the most complete and powerful musical statements ever made. The completeness lies in their unprecedented intensity and in the astonishing development that can be traced between the early and the late works – a thirty-year-long revolution which altered forever the way we experience music. There is no end to exploration of Beethoven’s riches and yet what is most compelling is that his music speaks so directly to us as human beings. What seems to be the predominant impulse driving this music is man’s yearning for freedom, the unquenchable desire to expand his limits and to learn the truth about himself in this process.’

Reviews

August 2013

The chief characteristic of the Belcea Quartet's playing is, I would say, intensity...This is a major achievement, and though they will no doubt record these works again, it will always stand as a memorable set.

August 2013

Involved intensity is uppermost in the Belcea's ethos...This is the Belcea single-mindedly fathoming the emotional recesses of the composer's psyche, every interpretation steeped in a pregnancy of feeling, a vast recreative experience that harks back to the untrammelled foresight of the Busch Quartet at its best - but reconsidered and revitalised. Yes, it's that good.

8th June 2013

The vibrato-free molto adagio of the Opus 132 Quartet in A minor is stunning, but the first and second Razumovsky Quartets are equally arresting, with a wild tang at odds with this pristine ensemble's default sound.

Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets Vol. 2

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