Beethoven Quartets Op. 18.
Ludwig van Beethoven’s quartets Opus 18, published in 1801, consisted of his first six string quartets. They were composed between 1798 and 1800.
These quartets really demonstrate Beethoven’s total mastery of the classical string quartet compositional form, as developed by Haydn and Mozart. And this music is beautiful, full of humor and emotion.
Here are some samples from my Spotify file called “Hank’s Op. 18”:
These compositions set a standard for chamber music for many years to follow, and we hear them on this CD as performed by the Allegri quartet.
The Allegri Quartet was founded in 1953 by Eli Goren and William Pleeth. It is Britain’s longest-running chamber music ensemble, sustained over six decades by successive generations of performers.
The tracks on this CD include quartets numbers 3, 4, and 5:
1: Quartet in C minor, opus 18, no 4: I – Allegro ma non tanto
2: Quartet in C minor, opus 18, no 4: II – Andante scherzoso quasi Allegretto
3: Quartet in C minor, opus 18, no 4: III – Menuetto: Allegro
4: Quartet in C minor, opus 18, no 4: IV – Allegretto
5: Quartet in D major, opus 18, no 3: I – Allegro
6: Quartet in D major, opus 18, no 3: II – Andante con moto
7: Quartet in D major, opus 18, no 3: III – Allegro
8: Quartet in D major, opus 18, no 3: IV – Presto
9: Quartet in A major, opus 18, no 5: I – Allegro
10: Quartet in A major, opus 18, no 5: II – Menuetto
11: Quartet in A major, opus 18, no 5: III – Andante cantabile
12: Quartet in A major, opus 18, no 5: IV – Allegro
Here are some of the Beethoven’s String Quartets, Opus 18, performed by the Allegri Quartet:
And next, here is the Beethoven String Quartet Op. 18 No. 1, 2nd movement, as performed by the Alban Berg quartet:
Finally, here’s the same group (Alban Berg), performing the Beethoven String Quartet Op. 18 No. 6, 3rd movement: (Totally amazing music!)
Tags: Beethoven, String Quartets, Opus 18, Allegri Quartet