Tchaikovsky: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 3

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Strings muted, energies quelled, the Heath Quartet taps into the music’s melancholy …the Heath Quartet brings to Tchaikovsky urgency and a willingness to engage with intensity — Financial Times, 25th November 2016 More…

Release Date: 18th Nov 2016
Catalogue No: HMU907665
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Length: 66 minutes

Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11

Work length31:02

$4.60

$5.75

$6.70

I. Moderato e semplice

Track length11:08

$1.40

$1.75

$2.05

II. Andante cantabile

Track length6:34

$1.00

$1.25

$1.45

III. Scherzo. Allegro non tanto e con fuoco

Track length3:57

$1.00

$1.25

$1.45

IV. Finale. Allegro giusto

Track length9:23

$1.20

$1.50

$1.75

Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 3 in E flat minor, Op. 30

Work length35:16

$4.80

$6.00

$7.00

I. Andante sostenuto - Allegro moderato

Track length15:24

$1.60

$2.00

$2.35

II. Allegretto vivo e scherzando

Track length3:56

$1.00

$1.25

$1.45

III. Andante funebre e doloroso, ma con moto

Track length9:53

$1.20

$1.50

$1.75

IV. Finale. Allegro non troppo e risoluto

Track length6:03

$1.00

$1.25

$1.45

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The Heath Quartet makes its harmonia mundi début with this contrasting programme of Tchaikovsky’s String Quartets: his Quartet No. 1 (famed for its plaintive “Andante cantabile”) and the tempestuous No. 3 (dedicated to the memory of Ferdinand Laub).

Since being selected by YCAT and winning 1st Prize at the Tromp Competition in 2008 the Heath Quartet has forged a strong international presence. In 2011 they were awarded a prestigious Borletti-Buitoni Special Ensemble Scholarship and undertook complete Beethoven cycles at the Facyl Festival in Salamanca and in Edinburgh. Highlights over the last year have included recitals at Wigmore Hall as part of the Emerging Talent scheme, including the premiere of a new work by Luke Bedford and collaborations with Stephen Hough and Ian Bostridge. Future engagements include complete Tippett and Bartók cycles, and a recital with the soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci at Wigmore Hall, debut recitals at the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay in Paris, return visits to the Concertgebouw and their USA debut.

Reviews

25th November 2016

Strings muted, energies quelled, the Heath Quartet taps into the music’s melancholy …the Heath Quartet brings to Tchaikovsky urgency and a willingness to engage with intensity

December 2016

The Heath Quartet’s account is rather dry-eyed, stressing the lyrical over the melancholy compared with the Borodin Quartet’s more sentimental reading for Teldec. The Heath’s sound is bright and without undue vibrato, which gives their playing a slightly cool edge for this repertoire

23rd February 2017

The lovely sense of blend in the opening of the first quartet reflects their experience in Beethoven: there is a beautiful, Germanic warmth to the sound that actually sounds rather un-Russian.

20th November 2016

Russian interpreters have tended to dominate this repertoire in the catalogue, so it’s good to hear these outstanding young British musicians in still relatively neglected works...the Heath players pour out Tchaikovsky’s grief for his friend with a depth of tone and virtuosity – in the allegros – that matches the finest Russians on disc. A notable debut.

8th December 2016

Tchaikovsky’s contradictions as a composer are neatly captured and untangled here by the Heath Quartet. In the Quartet No 1, the warmth of their playing hits the ear first, but what is really impressive is how naturally they make the changes of pace and mood unfold in the opening movement.

30th November 2016

the Heath Quartet address [the First Quartet] with subdued affection in this endearing recording…but joyous moments also abound…the Heaths unleash a healthy exuberance in its Finale, and again in the Third’s puckish Allegretto. They sign off the later quartet with a radiant topping of optimism underpinned by bristling rhythmic energy.

March 2017

fine ensemble and technical accuracy … If you don’t own a recording of these fascinating quartets, this is a good starting point

Classical Music February 2017

These are acutely observed, restrained performances that seem immediately to take the listener to the heart of the music. Without sacrificing the overall architecture and musical argument, details emerge naturally with freshness and vitality: whilst it is difficult to single out any particular highlight, the grave slow movement of the third quartet is remarkable for its depth and concentration,

Record Review 26th November 2016

one of the things I was very impressed by in this performance is that they make this Tchaikovsky sound almost closer to Brahms in some ways…Tchaikovsky’s thought processes are so often undervalued, we get so swept away by the emotion that we don’t realise he was also a very fine musical thinker too…they [the Heath Quartet] show that you don’t have to go overboard to capture that sense of loss of grief

Tchaikovsky: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 3

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