Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Recomended Top 10 String Quartets of Classical Era,.. other than Haydn's

Joseph Haydn's String Quartets are so dominated the Classical Era repertoire that we often rare to found his contemporaries works that put on the same light spot. There are quite a revival on the works of Classical Era string quartet in this decade, put by recording companies such as CPO, Hungaraton etc, that put good efforts in recording less known gems on this era.

Here a list that try to give recomendations for less known string quartets from the Classical Era. Of course this list is only according to my limited knowledge as I haven't collected all recordings available.

10. Giovanni Viotti - Six String Quartets Concertant Op.3
by l'Arte del Suono - Talent
This is a late Classical works, it's Quartets Concertant. I think the unique thing is that Viotti's violin mastery is put into this string quartet medium.

9. Johann Georg Albrechtsberger - Three String Quartets Op.7
by Authentic String Quartet played on period instruments - Hungaraton
Great composition and melody by one of the best music theoritician in Mozartian era.

8. Luigi Tomasini - Three String Quartets
by Quartetto Luigi Tomasini played on period instruments - Hungaraton
Luigi Tomasini was a violinist playing in the Esterhazy circle. These string quartets is great in melody line, such as String Quartet in Dm.

7. Adalbert Gyrowetz - Three String Quartets Op.44 (1804)
by Solomon String Quartet - Hyperion
Again try to listen the third quartet, which is really great in composition.

6. Ignaz Pleyel - Three Prussians Quartets Ben 337,338,339
by Pleyel Quartett Koln - CPO
Pleyel composed many string quartets and closely resembled Haydn's. But many listener thinks he got his style. Many recordings available but I think this CPO disc represented the set that really show Pleyel mastery of the medium in the same standard as Haydn's.

5. Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Three String Quartets Op.30
by Delme String Quartet - Helios
Hummel is a very underated composer IMO, his other works are slowly grow in public hearing. But this recording of his three string quartets are really gems from the era.

4. Franz Krommer - Three String Quartets Op.7
by Authentic String Quartet played on period instruments - Hungaraton
The first string quartet immediately opened with interesting melody motive in the first movement. Strongly recommended.

3. Gaetano Brunetti - String Quartets
by Schuppanzigh Quartett - CPO
Brunetti some how appointed as resident composer in the Spanish region. Great selection on his string quartets here.

2. Luigi Boccherini - Six String Quartets Op.32
by Esterhazy String Quartet
Similar to Pleyel, Boccherini is prolific composers in chamber genre. His Op.32 set recorded many times and represented his best on this medium, known to us, because of his hundreds of pieces yet to be examine carefully one by one.

1. Joseph Baptist Vanhal - String Quartets
by Kubin Quartet - Multisonic Records
Very less known, Vanhal is close contemporary to Mozart and Haydn for playing in the same ensemble to them. This set of quartet display the other masterpiece of the medium from the Classical era. This CD contained Vanhal's earlier composition in Opus 1, Opus 2, Opus 6 and Opus 13.


UPDATED 2014:

Other Notable Classical String Quartet Pieces:

- Over the year, the fascinating Vanhal compositions also can be heard on the Camesina Quartet recording. His op.33 quartets are also dinamic and melodious. Check it out too.

- Hyacinthe Jadin's only three string quartets recorded. By Quatuor Cambini.

- Antonin Reicha's string quartets. Now got two CD of them, by Kreutzer Quartet. CD 1 and CD 2

Sunday, September 18, 2011

List of String Quartet Composers (Part 2)

UPDATED : THIS PAGE HAD BEEN COMBINED INTO THIS ONE! That is the latest version and the page combined into Wikipedia's article as well! Please check it! Meanwhile, this list on this page will no longer being updated, thus supersede.

I have written Additional List of String Quartet Composers in this blog / website and also one more in PART 3. In a meantime with my favorite Google search engine I discovered another dozens of interesting composers with their string quartets. So here the additional list:

Baldassare Galuppi (1706-1785) – 7 Concerti a Quattro, for string quartet
Christian Ernst Graf (30 June 1723 — 17 July 1804)6 String Quartets, 6 String Quartets, Op.3
Alois Luigi Tomasini (1741-1808)
in D (Ko.5), in Bb (Ko.10), in Dm (Ko.11)
very interesting quartet especially in Dm

Johann Baptist Kolb (31 August 1743 — between 1827 and 1850?)
6 quartets Op.1 F major, B♭ major, F major, D major, B♭ major, D major

*Gaetano Brunetti (1744-98)
six quartet Ms1636 (in C,Bb,F,A,Eb,G)

František Adam Míča (11 January 1746 — 19 March 1811)
Quartet no.2 in C

Otto Carl Erdmann Freiherr von Kospoth (1753-1817)
6 quartets Op.10

Pavel Wranitzky (1756–1808)
3 String Quartets, op 1
3 String Quartets, op 2
6 String Quartets, op 9
6 String Quartets, op 10
6 String Quartets, op 15
6 String Quartets, op 23 Recording available
6 String Quartets, op 26/op 16 Recording available
6 String Quartets, op 30
6 String Quartets, op 32
3 String Quartets, op 40
String Quartet, op 41/op 45 no 1
String Quartet, op 45/op 45 no 2
String Quartet, op 49/op 45 no 3
5 unpublished surviving quartets

Joseph Gehot (8 April 1756 — ca.1820)
six quartets Op.1, six quartets Op.7

Johann Georg Distler (1760 — 28 July 1799)
3 quartets Op.1

Johann Evangelist Brandl (1760-Mai 1837)
6 quartets Op. 17 dedicate to J.Haydn : in C, F, D

Antonín Vranický (June 13, 1761 – August 6, 1820)
3 string quartets. Op.1 Published by Hoffmeister around 1803. 
3 String quartets Op. 2 (in C, F and B♭)
Published in Vienna by Magazin du Musique around 1790. (Duke University Library has a copy.)
3 String quartets Op. 4
6 string quartets Op. 5. Published by André, around 1800.

Franz Alexander Pössinger ( 1767 in Wien- 1827)
String quartet in G dur Op.45, 6 quartets Op.49 (no.5 in D)

Anton Reicha (1770-1836)
Anton Reicha is another classical era that I predicted will have his work resurrected into respective repertoire very soon.
Three String Quartets, Opus 48: in C, G, E flat (Vienna, late 1801-Jan 1803)
Breitkopf und Hartel, Leipzig, 1804
Three String Quartets, Opus 49: in c, D, B flat (Vienna, 1802-3)
Breitkopf und Hartel, Leipzig, 1804
Grand Quartet in C Major, Opus 52 (Vienna, 1803-4)
Breitkopf und Hartel, Leipzig, 1804-5
String Quartet in A Major, Opus 58 (Vienna, 1804-5)
Breitkopf und Hartel, Leipzig, 1805
Six String Quartets, Opus 90: in E flat, G, C, e, F, D
Ph. Petit, Paris, 1819 Simrock, Bonn & Köln, c. 1821
Breitkopf und Hartel, Leipzig, 1821
Three String Quartets, Opus 94: in A, E flat, f
Paccini, Paris, 1824 Hynard, Bordeaux, 1824?
Three String Quartets, Opus 95: in E, D, C Paccini, Paris, 1824 Hynard, Bordeaux, 1824?
Quatuor Scientifique, Vienna, 1806 Bibliotheque Nationale [BN], Ms 12020
[This massive quartet is in twelve movements, eight of which are fugues!]
La Pantomime, Fantasia for String Quartet, Vienna, 24 April 1806 BN, Ms 12020
General Overture for String Quartet Sessions, or: Verification of the Accord of String Instruments, Paris, 1816 BN, Ms 12035

Felice Alessandro Radicati (1775–1820)
9 string quartets

Philipp Jakob Riotte (16 August 1776 – 1856)
3 quartet Op.21

Fernando Sor (1778 – died 10 July 1839) – 3 string quartets

Weiss, Franz (1778–1830)
3 String Quartets, Op.1   2 String Quartets, Op.8

George Eugene Griffin (8 January 1781 — 28 May 1863)
3 String Quartets Op.8

Nikolaus von Krufft (1 February 1779 — 16 April 1818)
3 string quartes

Jacques Féréol Mazas (23 September 1782 — 26 August 1849)
3 quartet Op.7

Justus Johann Friedrich Dotzauer (20 June 1783 – 6 March 1860)
String Quartet, Op.64 , 2 String Quartets, Op.12

Alexander Pierre Francais Boely (1785-1858)
Quartet in Am Op.27, Trio Op.5, Sextet

Johann Peter Pixis (1788-1874) – 3 string quartet Op.69 (1800-1810)

Louis Schlösser (17 November 1800 — 17 November 1886)
String Quartet in D Op.11

Giuseppe Ghébart (20 November 1796 — 22 January 1870)
String Quartet No.1, Op.52
String Quartet No.2, Op.53
String Quintet No.1, Op.56

Léon de Saint-Lubin (* 5. Juli 1805 in Turin; † 13. Februar 1850)
op.10 String quartet No.1 B minor
op.19 Srting quaret No.2 D minor (ca. 1825)
op.27 string quartet No.3 (1829) – other 19 String quartets ?

Ambroise Thomas (1811-1892) String quartet in Em

F.A. Gore Ouseley (12 August 1825 — 6 April 1889)
Quartet in C, in Dm

Władysław Żeleński (6 July 1837 – 23 January 1921)
String Quartet in F major, Op.28
String Quartet in A major, Op.42

Georg Wilhelm Rauchenecker (8 March 1844 in Munich-17 July 1906)
String Quartet No. 1 in C minor (1874)
String Quartet No. 2 in D major (1878)
String Quartet in A minor (ca. 1879)
String Quartet in E major (ca. 1883)
String Quartet in G minor (in the Form of a Suite) (ca. 1890)
String Quartet in E flat major

Tomás Bretón (29 December 1850 — 2 December 1923)
String quartet in D

Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936)
7 string quartets

Lorenzo Perosi (21 December 1872 - 12 October 1956)
3 string quartets in Am, Bb, G

Joseph Jongen (14 December 1873 – 12 July 1953)
Three string quartets

MK Čiurlionis (1875 –10 April 1911)
interesting composer and painter that composed one string quartet in Cm, his work is available in youtube.

Rutland Boughton (1878-1960)
more famous as opera composer, Boughton was composed chamber music including Oboe quartets and String quartet in A Welsh, String quartet in F on Greek Folk Song

Jesús Guridi Bidaola (Vitoria, Spain, 25 September 1886 – Madrid, 7 April 1961)
Quartet in G major (1934) and Quartet in A minor (1949).

Godfried Devreese (1893-1972),
Belgian composer, string quartet in F (1925) is available in youtube

this list is to addendum list in wikipedia and my previous blog post and also to be continued to PART 3

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Haydn Era String Quartets Composers Timeline

I have modifed and updated a little bit on the very good Composer's Timeline, made by Classical.net. I put in several additional composers on the Haydn String Quartet era. Please take a look this composer chart to see some interesting cross fate between well known personalities. Updated more composers this week.(Max Reger, Villa Lobos, Ginastera etc.)

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Additional List of String Quartet Composers

UPDATED : THIS PAGE HAD BEEN COMBINED INTO THIS ONE! That is the latest version and the page combined into Wikipedia's article as well! Please check it! Meanwhile, this list on this page will no longer being updated, thus supersede.

Wikipedia's List of String Quartet Composers is an excellent start for scholar and enthusiast to see comprehensive list of Composer who wrote String Quartet. But then over the year I found too many neglected composers, mostly in Classical Era, did not make it into the list. So, here I compiled the list for it, additional list for Wikipedia's. I did not had time to standardized the list, but I guess it is informative enough. My sources are :
http://thesavagebreast.blogspot.com/p/composers.html - Blog for String Quartets of the Classical Era
https://www.areditions.com/rr/rrc.html - Score publication and research
http://www.lmconsult.com/xq_r1700.html#HOLZ01 - Dedicated website for String Quartet
IMSLP-String quartet Category
http://editionsilvertrust.com/string-quartets.htm - Dozens of chamber score.
Over the time I will update this list, including detail and number of quartet everytime I come across new infos.

For starter, I remind everyone the timeline of Haydn's String Quartet, as he is regarded as inventor of this genre. Thanks Papa Haydn!

Haydn’s

•1 Opus 1 (1762-64)
•2 Opus 2 (1763-65)
•3 Opus 3 (spurious) - by Hoffsteiter
•4 Opus 9 (1771)
•5 Opus 17 (1771)
•6 Opus 20, the "Sun" quartets (1772)
•7 Opus 33, the "Russian" quartets (1781)
•8 Opus 42 (1785)
•9 Opus 50, the "Prussian" quartets (1787)
•10 Opus 51 (1787)
•11 Opus 54, 55, the "Tost" quartets, sets I & II (1788)
•12 Opus 64, the "Tost" quartets, set III (1790)
•13 Opus 71, 74, the "Apponyi" quartets (1793)
•14 Opus 76, the "Erdödy" quartets (1796–1797)
•15 Opus 77, the "Lobkowitz" quartets (1799)
•16 Opus 103 (1803)

ADDITIONAL LIST OF STRING QUARTET COMPOSERS
PART 2 (2012) - PART 3 (2013)

Joseph Gibbs (1699-1788) six quartettos

Franz Xaver Richter (1709-89) String quartets Op. 5 Nr. 1-6 (1757)

Ignaz Holzbauer (1711-83)two string quartet in B-flat and E-flat, as well two unidentified quartets.


Felice Giardini (1716-96) – string quartet in Eb,
Op 22 (1799-1780), 6 quartets
Op 23 (1782), 6 quartets, [2 each for {vn,ob,va,vc}/{vn,2va,vc}/{2vn,va,vc}]
Op 25 (1783), 3 quartets
Op 29 (1790), 6 quartets
(1776), [in 6 Quartettos by Bach, Abel and Giardini, {fl/vn,vn,va,bc}]

Monn, Matthias Georg (1717-1750)
6 quartets (1808), [2 from syms]

Camerloher, Placidus Cajetan von (1718-1782)
6 Simphonia da camera

Wenzel Raimund Pirck (1718-63) also spelled [Birk, Birckh, Pirck, Pirckh, Pürk, Pürck]
at least sixteen quartets

Anders Wesström (c.1720-81)

Pietro Nardini (1722-93)

Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-87)

Johann Baptist Wendling (1723-97)

Giovanni Battista Cirri (1724-1808)

Ferdinando Bertoni (1725-1813)

Friedrich Hartmann Graf (1727-95)

Franz Asplmayr (1728-86) – Six quartet Op.2

Joseph Starzer (1728-87)

Florian Leopold Gassmann (1729-74)
Divertimento in F Major (H. 435); Divertimento in C Major (H. 461); Divertimento in E Major (H. 467)

Antonin Kammel (1730-84)
6 String Quartets, Op.4, 6 Quartets, Op.7 (some can be replace by flute/oboe)

Antonio Sacchini (1730-86)

Tommaso Giordani (c.1730-1806)

Carl Joseph Toeschi (1731-88)

Gaetano Pugnani (1731-98)

Giuseppe Demachi (1732-c.91)

Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (1732-95)

Ignaz von Beecke (1733-1803)

Filtz, Anton (1733-1760)
6 quartets (?1785) 2 more

Karl von Ordonez (1734-86) Carlo d'Ordonez
Brown IV:A1 - String Quartet Op. 1 No.1 in A major
Brown IV:A2 - String Quartet Op. 3 No.4 in A major
Brown IV:A3 - String Quartet Op. 2 No.4 in A major
Brown IV:A4 - String Quartet in A minor
Brown IV:B1 - String Quartet Op. 1 No.5 in B flat major
Brown IV:B2 - String Quartet Op. 2 No.1 in B flat major
Brown IV:B3 - String Quartet in B flat major
Brown IV:B4 - String Quartet Op. 4 No.2 in B flat major
Brown IV:C1 - String Quartet Op. 4 No.4 in C major
Brown IV:C2 - String Quartet Op. 3 No.3 in C major
Brown IV:C3 - String Quartet Op. 2 No.3 in C major
Brown IV:C4 - String Quartet Op. 1 No.3 in C minor
Brown IV:D1 - String Quartet Op. 3 No.2 in D major
Brown IV:D2 - String Quartet Op. 4 No.6 in D major
Brown IV:D3 - String Quartet Op. 3 No.6 in D major
Brown IV:D4 - String Quartet Op. 2 No.2 in D major
Brown IV:Es1 - String Quartet Op. 4 No.3 in E flat major
Brown IV:Es2 - String Quartet Op. 1 No.4 in E flat major
Brown IV:F1 - String Quartet Op. 4 No.1 in F major
Brown IV:F2 - String Quartet Op. 3 No.5 in F major
Brown IV:F3 - String Quartet Op. 1 No.2 in F major
Brown IV:F4 - String Quartet in F major
Brown IV:F5 - String Quartet Op. 2 No.5 in F minor
Brown IV:G1 - String Quartet Op. 1 No.6 in G major
Brown IV:G1 - String Quartet Op. 4 No.5 in G major
Brown IV:G3 - String Quartet Op. 3 No.1 in G major
Brown IV:G4 - String Quartet Op. 2 No.6 in G minor

Christoph Sonnleithner (1734-86)

Joseph Schmitt (1734-91)

Johann Christian Bach (1735-82)

Ernst Wilhelm Wolf (1735-92)

Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (1736-1809)

Ignaz Fränzl (1736-1811)

Josef Myslivecek (1737-81)

Michael Haydn (1737-1806)

Johann Georg Christoph Schetky (1737-1824)

Pierre Vachon (1738-1803) 30 sq, 1775-1782
•Op. 5 (c. 1775), 6 string quartets
1.In A major 2.In G minor 3.In F minor 4.In B-flat major 5.In A major 6.In Eb
7.Op. 6 (1776?), 6 string quartets, published in London, different from the 1773 op. 6
8.- 9.- 10.- 11.- 12.- 13.In D major
14.Op. 7 (1773), 6 string quartets 15.In F major 16.In D major 17.In E-flat major
18.In B-flat major 19.In D minor 20.In C minor 21.Op. 9 (1774), 6 string quartets (lost)
22.Op. 11 (1782), 6 string quartets 23.In A major 24.In E major 25.In G major
26.In B major 27.In F minor 28.In C minor

Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-99)

Franz Ignaz Kaa (1739-1818)

Nicholas-Joseph Chartrain (1740-93)

Giovanni Paisiello (1740-1816)
R 8.01 - String Quartet No.1 in C major
R 8.02 - String Quartet No.2 in A major
R 8.03 - String Quartet No.3 in D major
R 8.04 - String Quartet No.4 in E flat major
R 8.05 - String Quartet No.5 in E flat major
R 8.06 - String Quartet No.6 in C major
R 8.07 - String Quartet No.7 in E flat major
R 8.08 - String Quartet No.8 in G major
R 8.09 - String Quartet No.9 in A major

Mikhail Frantsevich Kerzelli (c.1740-1818)

Karl Friedrich Baumgarten (c.1740-1824)

Anton Zimmerman (1741-81)

Henri-Joseph Rigel (1741-99)

François-Hippolyte Barthélémon (1741-1808)

Alois Luigi Tomasini (1741-1808)

André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry (1741-1813)
String Quartets Op. 3 (1761-1765) 3 (1761-1765)
String Quartet in E flat major, Op. String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 3/2
String Quartet in F major, Op. String Quartet in F major, Op. 3/3
String Quartet in G major, Op. String Quartet in G major, Op. 3/1
String Quartet in D major, Op. String Quartet in D major, Op. 3/4 9:53 3 / 4 9:53
String Quartet in c minor, Op. String Quartet in c minor, Op. 3/6 9:10 3 / 6 9:10
String Quartet in G major, Op. String Quartet in G major, Op. 3/5 10:26 3 / 5 10:26

Jean-Baptiste-Aimé Janson (1742-1803)

Anton Ferdinand Titz (1742-1811)

Jean-Baptiste Davaux (1742-1822)
Op 6 (1773), 6 quartets, {2vn,va,b}
Op 9 (1779), 6 quatuors concertants
Op 10 (1780), 6 quatuors d'airs connus
Op 14 (1790), 4 quartets Op 17 (?), 3 quatuors concertans, {2vn,va,b}

Antonine Laurent Baudron (1742-1834)

Gaetano Brunetti (1744-98)

Marie-Alexandre Guénin (1744-1835)

Joseph Bengraf (1745-91)

Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-99) – 18 stringquartets

Carl Stamitz (1745-1801)

Silverius Müller (1745-1812)

Maddelena Laura Sirmen-Lombardini (1745-1818)

Georg Anton Kreusser (1746-1810)

Venancio Rauzzini (1746-1810)

Manuel Canales (1747-86)

Leopold Anton Kozeluch (1747-1818)
P VIII:1 \ String Quartet Op. 32 No. 1 in B flat major
P VIII:2 \ String Quartet Op. 32 No. 2 in G major
P VIII:3 \ String Quartet Op. 32 No. 3 in E flat major
P VIII:4 \ String Quartet Op. 33 No. 1 in C major
P VIII:5 \ String Quartet Op. 33 No. 2 in A major
P VIII:6 \ String Quartet Op. 33 No. 3 in F major

Joseph Fiala (1748-1816)

Etienne-Bernard-Joseph Barrière (1748-1818)

Emanuel Aloys Förster (1748-1823)

William Shield (1748-1829)

Julien Navoigille (c.1749-?1811)

Antonio Rosetti (1750-92)
D6 IV:1.1 String Quartet Op 2/1 A major
D7 IV:1.2 String Quartet Op 2/2 C major
D8 IV:1.3 String Quartet Op 2/3 E flat major
D9 IV:2.1 String Quartet Op 6/1 A major CPO 1995
D10 IV:2.2 String Quartet Op 6/2 E flat major CPO 1995
D11 IV:2.3 String Quartet Op 6/3 B flat major CPO 1995
D12 IV:2.4 String Quartet Op 6/4 C minor CPO 1995
D13 IV:2.5 String Quartet Op 6/5 D major CPO 1995
D14 IV:2.6 String Quartet Op 6/6 F major CPO 1995
D15 IV:4.1 String Quartet A major
D16 IV:4.2 Flute Quartet G major
D17 IV:4.3 String Quartet F major

Anton Stamitz (1750-?96)

Johann Mathias Sperger (1750-1812)
at least nine string quartets without key information, on earsense.org


Josephus Andreas Fodor (1751-1828)

John Marsh (1752-1828)

Joseph Teixidor (1752-c.1811) 
String Quartets: No. 1 in B♭; No. 2 in G; No. 5 in E♭1801
(by Cambini Qrt • LA MA DE GUIDO 2093 (61:04) )

Nicolas Dalayrac (1753 1809) – String quartet Op.7

Johan Wikmanson (1753-1800) – 5 sq no.2 in Em

Otto Carl Erdmann (1753-1817)

Jean-Baptiste Bréval (1753-1823) – QUATUOR CONCERTANTS

Johann Schenk (30 November 1753 — 29 December 1836)
five string quartets

Giuseppe Antonio Capuzzi (1755-1818)
Op 1 (1780), 6 quartets
Op 2 (1780), 6 quartets
Op 6 (1787), 6 quartets

Federigo Fiorillo (c.1755-?1823)

Gaetano Andreozzi (1755-1826)

Johann Christoph Vogel (1756-88)

Franz Grill (1756-92)

Anton Teyber (1756-1822)

Antonio Bartolomeo Bruni (1757-1821)

Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831) – 70 string quartets

Charles Wesley (1757-1834)

Franz Teyber (1758-1810)

Frédéric Blasius (1758-1829)
Op. 3 (1780–1782)  Op. 10 (1785)
Six string quartets, Op. 12 (1795) Op. 19 (1795)

Nikolaus Zmeskáll (1759-1833) , SQ in Gm , SQ in D

Franz Christoph Neubauer (c.1760-95)
String Quartet Op. 3, No. 3 (S. 22);

Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812)

Giovanni Francesco Giuliani (c.1760-?1818)

Erik Tulindberg (1761-1814)

Johann Wessely (1762-1810)

Johannes Andreas Amon (1763-1825)

Franz Danzi (1763-1826)
Op 5 (?1790), 3 quartets
Op 6 (?1790), 3 quartets
Op 7 (c1790), 3 quartets
Op 16 (1800)
Op 29 (c1805), 3 quartets
Op 44 (c1813), 3 quartets
Op 55 (?1821), 3 quartets

Bernard Lorenziti (c.1764-c.1815)

Anton Eberl (1765-1807)

Jakub Jan Ryba (1765-1815)

Daniel Steibelt (1765-1823)

Johan Arnold Dahmen (1766-94)

Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831)

János Spech (1767-1836)

Andreas Jakob Romberg (1767-1821)

Ferdinand Fränzl (1767-1833)

Louis Emmanuel Jadin (1768-1853)

George Lickl (1769-1843)

Jozef Antoni Franciszek Elsner (1769-1854)

John Webbe (1770-1843)

Peter Hänsel 1770-1831
Three String Quartets, Opus 5
Quartet No. 1 in A Major
Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major
Quartet No. 3 in D Major

Pierre Baillot (1771-1842)

Joseph Wölfl (1773-1812)
String Quartet in E flat major op. 30 No. 1. Dedicated to Mr. Bassi Guaita
String Quartet in C major op. 30 No. 2. Dedicated to Mr. Bassi Guaita
String Quartet in D major op. 30 No. 3. Dedicated to Mr. Bassi Guaita
Six String Quartets op.51. Published by Lavenu in London

Pierre Rode (1774-1830)

Joachim Nikolas Eggert (1779-1813)

Angelo Maria Benincori (1779-1821)

Henry Rowley Bishop (17 November 1786 — 30 April 1855)
String Quartet (Bishop, Henry Rowley)

Simon Sechter (11 October 1788 – 10 September 1867)
Austrian. super prolific composers, wrote about one fugue per day. Listed to wrote two quartes:
String Quartet in G major and The Four Temperaments: Music in a Jocular Vein (String Quartet), Op. 6

Frederic Ernest Fesca (February 15, 1789 – May 24, 1826)
String Quartet, Op.12
3 String Quartets, Op.1 , in Eb, F#m , Bb
3 String Quartets, Op.2

Ron, Marin de (1789-1817) in C (?) in f (?) in c (1816)

Joseph Mayseder (27 October 1789 – 21 November 1863)
was an Austrian violin virtuoso and composer.
String Quartets :
Opus 5 in A major
Opus 6 in G minor
Opus 7 in A-flat major
Opus 8 in F major (Quatuor Brilliant)
Opus 9 in D major
Opus 23 in G major
Opus 62 in F-sharp minor
Opus 66 in D major
Thèmes variés, with accompaniment of 2nd violin, viola and cello, op. 1, 4, 15
and five string quintets

Sir George Alexander Macfarren (2 March 1813 – 31 October 1887)
at least six string quartets

Antonio Bazzini (1818-1897)
no.1 in C
no.2 in Dm Op.75
no.3 in Eb Op.76
no.4 in G Op.79
no.5 in Fm Op.80
no.6 in F

Louis Théodore Gouvy (July 3, 1819 – April 21, 1898)
String Quartet in E minor (1848)
String Quartet in D major (1848)
String Quartet in A minor (1848)
String Quartet in B major (1855)
String Quartet No.1 in B♭ major Op.16-1 (1857)
String Quartet No.2 Op.16-2 (1857)
String Quartet No.3 Op.56 No. 1 (1872)
String Quartet No.4 Op.56 No. 2 (1873)
String Quartet No.5 Op.68 (1874)
String Quartet in G minor (1886)
String Quartet in G major (reconstruction:Pierre Thilloy) (1888)

Castillon, Alexis (1838-1873)
#1, Op 3 in a (?1867)
#2 (?1867), [inc, 1 mvt pub]

Friedrich Gernsheim (17 July 1839 — 11 September 1916)
String Quartet No.1, Op.25 (Gernsheim, Friedrich)
String Quartet No.2, Op.31 (Gernsheim, Friedrich)
String Quartet No.3, Op.51 (Gernsheim, Friedrich)
String Quartet No.4, Op.66 (Gernsheim, Friedrich)
String Quartet No.5, Op.83 (Gernsheim, Friedrich)

Hermann Graedener or Grädener (8 May 1844 – 15 September 1929)
String Quartet No.1, Op.33
String Quartet No.2, Op.39

Cui, César (1835-1918)
#1 in c Op45 (1890) #2 in D Op.68 (1907) #3 in Eb Op.91 (1913)

Paine, John Knowles (1839-1906)
Op 5 in D (c1859)

Carreño, Teresa (1853-1917)   in b (1896)

Foote, Arthur (1853-1937)
#1, Op 4 in g (1883)
#2, Op 32 in E (1894)
#3, Op 70 in D (1910)

Chadwick, George Whitefield (1854-1931)
#1 in g (1878) #2 in C (1879) #3 in D (1885) #4 in e (1896) #5 in d (1898)

Alexander Kopylov (14 July 1854 — 5 March 1911)
String Quartet No.1, Op.15
String Quartet No.2, Op.23
String Quartet No.3, Op.32
String Quartet No.4, Op.33

Léo Sachs (4 April 1856 — 13 November 1930)
String Quartet, Op.143

Laura Valborg Aulin (1860-1928)  String Quartet no.1 w/o Op in F 1884, no.2 op.17 in e 1889

Parker, Horatio (1863-1919)
Op 11 in F (1895)

Tor aulin (1866-1914)

Wood, Charles (1866-1926)
in d (1883) ,in Eb (1893) ,/2 in a (c1911), [#3?]
in Eb (1912) ,/6 in F (1915) ,in D (?) ,in g (?), [Incomplete]

Ottokar Nováček (13 May 1866 — 3 February 1900)
String Quartet in E minor
String Quartet, Op.10
String Quartet, Op.13

Ewald Straesser (27 June 1867 — 4 April 1933)
Op.12 - 2 String Quartets
1.String Quartet in E minor (Simrock, 1901. Plate 11607.)
2.String Quartet No.2 in G minor (Simrock, 1901.)
Op.15 - String Quartet No.3 in B♭ major
Op.42 - String Quartet No.4 in E minor
Op.52 - String Quartet No.5 in G minor

Jan Brandts Buys (12 September 1868 — 8 December 1939)
String Quartet, Op.19
String Sextet, Op.40
Suite for String Quartet, Op.23

Leone Sinigaglia (14 August 1868 — 16 May 1944)
String quartet in D major, opus 27.
Scherzo for String Quartet, Op.8

Vitezlav Novak (1870-1949)
String Quartet in G-Major, Op. 22
Trio in D-Minor, Op. 27
String Quartet in D-Major, Op. 35
String Quartet in G-Major, Op. 66

Mason, Daniel (1873-1953)
Op 19 (1918-1919), on Negro Themes
Variations on a Theme of John Powell (1924-1925)
Op 28 (1927), Fanny Blair, folksong fantasy
Op 31 (1931), Serenade
Op 40 (1939), Variations on a Quiet Theme

Ernst Mielck (24 October 1877 – 22 October 1899)
string quartet no.1 in Gm Op.1 1845

Carlo Perinello (13 February 1877 — 6 January 1942)
String Quartet, Op.10

Riccardo Pick-Mangiagalli (10 July 1882 — 8 July 1949)
String Quartet in Gm Op.18 1910

Maximilian Steinberg (4 July 1883 — 6 December 1946)
String Quartet No.1, Op.5
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 16 (1925)

Sir Lennox Berkeley (12 May 1903 – 26 December 1989)
String Quartet No. 1, Op. 6 String Quartet No. 2, Op. 15 String Quartet No. 3, Op. 76

Vadim Nikolayevich Salmanov (St Petersburg 4 November 1912 - Leningrad 27 February 1978) six string quartets (1945-71)

Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, CBE (21 October 1921 - 23 September 2006)
String Quartet No. 1 (1949) String Quartet No. 2 (1975)

Jeffery Cotton
String Quartet No. 1

Otomar Kvěch (b 25 May 1950)
String Quartet No. 1 (1972)
String Quartet No. 2 (1973)
String Quartet No. 3 (1974)
String Quartet No. 4 (1979)
String Quartet No. 5 (1985)
String Quartet No. 7 (2002)
String Quartet No. 8 with solo soprano (2005)
String Quartet No. 6 "Mozartův stesk" (Mozart's Nostalgia) (2006)

to be continue to PART 2  and PART 3

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Forgotten Master: George Onslow and his String Quartets

George Onslow (1784-1853) was chamber specialist composer in his age, and largely forgotten by now.  I read that historian noted Onslow as well known in his era. He is truly specialist in chamber works, about 36 string quartets and 34 string quintets his recorded works is no-way a fill in for historical purposes only. My first listening of Op.9 no.1 String Quartet in G minor "Variation on God Saves the Queen" theme is an immediately fall in love-alike. The other nice works in string quartet is his arrangement on the opera Guise op.60, as recorded by CD Onslow: Guise Ou Les Etats De Blois for string quartet. Its has its drama and very lyrical, and it is by reason why it is acknowledged by Beethoven and Schubert, I found they are highly sophisticated in composition. It is a shame that his 36 set of quartets, are still largely hidden gems. The current revival of his works involved string quartet ensembles such as the Mandelring Quartet and Quatuor Ruggieri in recording his works.

On one of the CD liner, George Onslow was wealthy and base his composition mainly by his curiosity, rather than following the general (French) musical taste.


Today, recorded cd on Onslow is available by several quartet ensembles. Hopefully a complete set can be recovered and recorded in the future. His opus work numbered till op.83 and 90% are a chamber works, with four symphonies.


And three volume of quartet by Mandelring Quartet on CPO :





Onslow: Guise Ou Les Etats De Bloisarrange for String quartet

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Top 60 Most Recommended Violin Concertos

Will it possible to list out the list of most recommended violin concertos from the whole classical music repertoire? Surely not easy, but here I am, listing out the 60(+) pieces that I think I will recommend to new and hardcore listener.

For avoiding vague comparision of the uncomparable, I will group this into 5 groups, Group 1: Overall Must listen repertoire, Group 2: most recommended in violin playing, Group 3: most recommended in orchestration Group 4: all the rest underated / less known / and for hardcore violin concerto fans. Sure I'm missing tons of other because I haven't heard about them yet. And for Baroque period, it will not fully accommodated also because I excluded tons of Baroque violin concertos by Tartini, Telemann, Vivaldi etc. And , it is mostly on my taste and (very less) knowledge of course. I also must exclude most of Classical era repertoire , and think about to sort it out on other post. Here we go:

Group 1 - Must Listen Violin Concerto, the Basic Repertoire
Top 10 Violin Concertos

01. Sibelius Violin Concerto in Dm - recommend records [by Cho Liang Lin / Esa-Peka Salonen] [Vadim Brodski]
02. Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in Em - recommend records [by Itzhak Perlman] [Anne Akiko Meyer]
03. Paganini Violin Concerto no.2 in Bm La Campanella - recommend records [by Salvatore Accardo]
04. Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D - recommend records [by Isaac Stern] [Midori]
05. Lalo Symphonie Espagnole Op.21 - recommend records [by Maxim Vengerov]
06. Bruch Violin Concerto no.1 in Gm - recommend records [by Itzhak Perlman]
07. Bartok Violin Concerto no.2 - recommend records [by Anne-Sophie Mutter]
08. Dvorak Violin Concerto in Am - recommend records [by Josef Suk]
09. Mozart Violin Concerto no.5 in A (& others) - recommend records [by Itzhak Perlman / James Levine]
10. Barber Violin Concerto Op.14 - recommend records [by Gil Shaham]

Group 2 : The next listening, for its violin virtuosity
11. Prokofiev Violin Concerto no.1 in D - recommend records [by David Oistrakh]
12. Paganini Violin Concerto no.1 in D - recommend records [by Yehudi Menuhin] [Vadim Brodski]
13. Khachaturian Violin Concerto in Dm - recommend records [by Julia Fishcer]
14. Jeno Hubay Violin Concerto no.2 in Em (and others) - recommend records [by Hagai Shaham]
15. Saint Saens Violin Concerto no.2 in C - recommend records [by Jascha Heifetz]
16. Ravel Tzigane, rapsodie de concert (orchestra version) - recommend records [by Maxim Vengerov]
17. Vieuxtemps Violin Concerto no.5 in Am & the other four - recommend records [by Jascha Heifetz]
18. Wieniawski Violin Concerto no.2 in Dm - recommend records [by Gil Shaham]
19. Wolf Ferrari Violin Concerto in D - recommend records [by Ulf Hoelscher]
20. Strauss,R Violin Concerto in Dm - recommend records [by Sarah Chang]

Group 3 : ..Here the concertos for its great orchestration
21. Brahms Violin Concerto in D  - recommend records [by Itzhak Perlman]
22. Elgar Violin Concerto in Bm - recommend records [by Nigel Kennedy / Simon Rattle]
23. Bach Concerto for Two Violins in Dm - recommend records [by Andrew Manze] [Midori]
24. Beethoven Violin Concerto in D - recommend records [by Itzhak Perlman] [Hillary Hahn]
25. Walton Violin Concerto - recommend records [by James Ehnes]
26. Myaskovsky Violin Concerto in Dm - recommend records [by Vadim Repin] [David Oistrakh]
27. Glazunov Violin Concerto in Am - recommend records [by Gil Shaham] [Julia Fischer]
28. Goldmark Violin Concerto - recommend records [by Joshua Bell] [Nathan Milstein]
29. Korngold Violin Concerto in D - recommend records [by Philipe Quint]
30. Nielsen Violin Concerto - recommend records [by Cho Liang Lin] [Maxim Vengerov]

Group 3: And here for you who already in the entrance of Violin Concerto addiction...
31. Rozsa Violin Concerto  - recommend records [by Jascha Heifetz]
32. Vaughan-Williams Violin Concerto in Dm Accademica  - recommend records [by Kenneth Sillito
32b. Vaughan-Williams The Lark Ascending - [by Hillary Hahn] [by Nigel Kennedy] [Anne A. Meyer]
33. Saint Saens Violin Concerto no.3 in Bm  - recommend records [ by Jascha Heifetz
34. Kabalevsky Violin Concerto in C Op.48  - recommend records [by Lydia Mordkovitch
35. Joachim Violin Concerto in Hungarian Style Op.11  - recommend records [by Elmar Oliveira
36. Chen Gang/He Zhan-hao The Butterfly Lover Violin Concerto
 originally an Erhu Concerto but it transcript perfectly for violin -recommend records [by Takako Nishizaki]   [by Gil Shaham] [by Centre So & Wuhan Concertory of Music So]
37. Bruch Violin Concerto no.3 in Dm  - recommend records [by Joshua Bell
38. Taneyev Suite de Concerto Op.28 (for Violin)  - recommend records [by Ilya Gringolt
39. Paganini Violin Concerto no.4 in Dm + no.3,5,6  - recommend records [ by Salvatore Accardo
40. Spohr Violin Concerto no.11 in G (and others)  - recommend records [Hillary Hahn]  [Simome Lamsma]
41. Schoenberg Violin Concerto  - recommend records [by Hillary Hahn
42. Shostakovich Violin Concerto in Am  - recommend records [by Leila Josewicz] [Vikotria Mullova]
43. Szymanowski Violin Concerto No.1 and 2   - recommend records [by Frank Peter Zimmermann]
44. Rochberg Violin Concerto  - recommend records [Isaac Stern] [Peter Sheppard Skaerved
45. Penderecki Violin Concerto no.2  - recommend records [by Anne-Sophie Mutter
46. Shebalin Violin Concerto Op.21 (1940)  - recommend records [by Andrew Hardy
47. Britten Violin Concerto  - recommend records [by Janine Jansen] [James Ehnes] [Maxim Vengerov]
48. Arensky Violin Concerto in Am  - recommend records [by Ilya Gringolts]  [by Sergey Ostrovsky]
49. Berwald Violin Concerto in C#m  - recommend records [by Tobias Ringborg
50. Bloch Violin Concerto  - recommend records [by Elmar Oliveira] [by Yehudi Menuhin]
 
51. Dohnanyi Violin Concerto no.1 in Dm and no.2 in Cm - recommend records [by Michael Ludwig]
52. Haydn Violin Concerto in C, G, A - recommend records [by Federico Guglielmo and L'Arte dell'Arco period instruments] [by Giuliano Carmignola]
53. Karlowicz Violin Concerto in A - recommend records   [by Tasmin Little]
54. Lees Violin Concerto - recommend records   [by Elmar Oliveira
55. Martinu Violin Concerto no.1 and no.2 - recommend records   [by Isabelle Faust] [Josef Suk]
56. Moszkowski Violin Concerto in C - recommend records   [by Tasmin Little]
57. Robert Schumann Violin Concerto - recommend records   [by Anthony Marwood] [Henryk Szeryng]
58. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Violin Concerto in Gm - recommend records [by Anthony Marwood]
59. Tor Aulin Violin Concerto no.3 and others - recommend records [by Tobias Ringborg and This]
60. Stravinsky Violin Concerto - recommend records   [by Kyung Hwa Chung] [by Anne-Sophie Mutter]
 
and more....
Vivaldi's Four Season - too many recordings...
Ole Bull Violin Concerto in A and Fantastico Concerto, [by Annar Folleso]
Hummel Violin Concerto in G [by James Ehnes]
Ysaye Violin Concerto no.8 and others [by Albrecht Laurent Breuninger]
Somervell Violin Concerto in Gm  [by Anthony Marwood]
Stanford Violin Concerto in D [by Anthony Marwood]

So, can you add what I missed out?

UPDATED 2013: - sure, there are still tons of Violin Concerto I only listen after I made up the list. Here the additional pieces:

Schubert Violin Konzerstuck in D  [by David Zinman]
John Adams Violin Concerto [by Chloe Hanslip]
Raff Violin Concerto no.1 and No.2 [by Michaela Paetsch] [Tobias Ringborg]
Pierre Rode Violin Concertos, neglected French master [Axel Strauss]
Rakov Violin Concerto No.1 (1944)  [by Andrew Hardy]
Kurt Atterberg Violin Concerto in Em Op.7 - another Sweden composer [by Ulf Wallin]
Ferdinand David Violin Concerto no.4 in E and no.5 in Dm [by Hagai Shaham]
d'Erlanger Violin Concerto in Dm Op.17 [by Philipe Grafin]
Cliffe Violin Concerto in Dm - all three composers from Hyperion Romantic Violin Concerto series
Rodolphe Kreutzer - the master himself, notable no.17,18 and 19  available in Naxos [by Axel Strauss]
Max Reger Violin Concerto in A [by Tanja Becker-Bender] [Ulf Wallin]
Egon Wellesz Violin Concerto Op.84 [by David Frühwirth]
Henze Violin Concerto No.1 and No.3 [by Peter Sheppard Skaerved]
Karol Lipinski Violin Concerto no.2 in D 'Military' as well his others [by Albrecht Breuninger]
Chevalier de Saint-Georges Joseph Boulogne, well known  Black French composer, produced dozen of violin concerto. [by Takako Nishizaki]

See also:
- Top 50 Most Recommended Cello Concertos
- Top 20 String Quartet Composers that You'll Need to Know, after you have listened all Haydns, Mozarts and Beethovens!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Beautiful Bruch's String Quartets

One of favorite composer of the Romantic era, is Max Bruch. He is/was mostly known for his Violin Concerto No.1 in Gm, which is followed by another two VC (plus one Concert piece for Violin, supposed to be no.4 Concerto) and Scottish Fantasy. But recently, his chamber works are in revival. From what reading and reviews I gathered, his chamber are in good reception by classical lover.

Among the chamber works are two String Quartets, others are a Piano Quintet post-h published, a Clarinet, Viola and Piano trio, String quintets etc. For his String quartet that I found a need to add a writting. I've listen to Mannheimer version that recorded around 1998. Another form of recording are in MP3 album by Academica String Quartet.

The quartet tune are sweet and as Romantic as we all love. The quartets written in his younger years, no.1 in 1856-58 and no.2 in 1861. The Edition Silvertrust website appraise its similarity to Mendelssohn. Quartet No.1 started calmly with Andante marking, improved to more faster tempo but rely solely on its beautiful melody. The second are an Adagio and ended with an energico trio. Then all concluded by fourth ending movement. The Second quartet did the same things, in another version that resembles all the Romantic feeling in its highest moment.

A soundclip to String Quartet no.1 in Cm, III Allegro molto energico:

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Leos Janacek String Quartet with Viola d'amore

Of the composers that are famous by his String Quartet one is Leos Janacek (1854-1928) . He composed two quartets, the first née "Kreutzer Sonata"  then the second, the even more famous and romantic née "Intimate Letters". I've been listening to these quartets for so long, but only the recent release of Mandelring Quartett's  that I learn something even more exciting.

The Mandelring Quartett's CD of Janacek quartet, included the tracks of the second quartet played with Viola d'amore (instead of viola), an instrument of viola but with extra strings (make it a total of 7 strings). From the reading it is how the piece originally supposed to be playing, as intended by the composer. Interpretation, this is a refreshing version and quickly be a favorite. Released on Audite Label :

BUY IT HERE at AMAZON










String Quartet No.1 "Kreutzer Sonata"
1. Adagio - Con moto
2. Con moto
3. Con moto - Vivo - Andante
4. Con moto

String Quartet No.2 "Intimate Letters" (viola)
5. Andante
6. Adagio
7. Moderato
8. Allegro

String Quartet No.2 "Intimate Letters" (viola d'amore)
9. Andante
10. Adagio
11. Moderato
12. Allegro

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Louis Spohr String Quartet Vol.14

Having write about Louis Spohr's String Quartets earlier, it is excited to see there is a final volume on his works. I just browse that the Vol.14 of the works will be released soon, January 25, 2011.

Read the teasers :
This is the 14th volume in Marco Polo’s ongoing survey of the string quartets of Spohr, one of the greatest violinists of his day.

Tracks:
1. String Quartet No. 31 in A major, Op. 132: I. Allegro vivace 7:22
2. String Quartet No. 31 in A major, Op. 132: II. Adagio 6:41
3. String Quartet No. 31 in A major, Op. 132: III. Scherzo: Vivace 6:50
4. String Quartet No. 31 in A major, Op. 132: IV. Finale: Allegro molto 7:50
5. String Quartet No. 36 in G minor, Op. 157: I. Allegro 7:43
6. String Quartet No. 36 in G minor, Op. 157: II. Larghetto 5:15
7. String Quartet No. 36 in G minor, Op. 157: III. Menuetto 4:03
8. String Quartet No. 36 in G minor, Op. 157: IV. Finale: Allegro molto 3:50
9. Potpourri No. 4 in B major, Op. 24 10:16

Louis Spohr composed string quartets throughout his career, the String Quartet No. 36 being his last completed large-scale work, composed in 1857 and modelled on those of Haydn and Mozart. As a result of depression during his later years, Spohr embargoed its performance, but as this recording shows it is a work of consummate craftsmanship. His String Quartet No. 31 was composed eleven years earlier and found favour with Mendelssohn and Wagner for its tightly woven counterpoint and sophisticated character. The earliest piece here, the Potpourri No. 4, is a short virtuoso display piece that draws on favourite opera arias by his idol Mozart.



PRE-ORDER now ! Link to Amazon Louis Spohr String Quartet Vol.14 .