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Middle String Quartets
Ludwig van Beethoven

Narratio Quartet

Middle String Quartets

Price: € 22.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917298123
Catnr: CC 72981
Release date: 01 November 2024
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Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917298123
Catalogue number
CC 72981
Release date
01 November 2024
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
EN
DE

About the album

Beethoven’s string quartets were written in an era when chamber music was shifting from the salons of the nobility into the concert hall, and when chamber music ensembles were slowly but surely metamorphosing from being a pursuit for a mix of outstanding amateurs and professionals into a discipline for professionally trained musicians. In that sense the “Rasumowsky” quartets represent a turning point in the string quartet tradition. Count Rasumowsky, one of Beethoven’s principal patrons in the first decade of the nineteenth century and the Russian ambassador in Vienna, was also an excellent amateur violinist, playing second violin in the string quartet which he financed and which was led by the renowned Ignaz Schuppanzigh. The three quartets, Opus 59, which were dedicated to him, prompted him to give up his place in the quartet. He provided the members of this quartet with a fixed appointment in 1808, which even included a pension for life. Initially, the three Opus 59 quartets met with some resistance from the Viennese audiences. After the two opus numbers 18 and 59, both consisting of a group of quartets, opus 74 is a single work, generally considered as one of the most readily accessible.
Beethovens Streichquartette entstanden in einer Zeit, in der sich die Kammermusik von den Salons des Adels in die Konzertsäle verlagerte und Kammermusikensembles sich langsam aber sicher von einer Mischung aus hervorragenden Amateuren und Profis zu einer Disziplin für professionell ausgebildete Musiker entwickelten. In diesem Sinne stellen die „Rasumowsky“-Quartette einen Wendepunkt in der Streichquartett-Tradition dar. Graf Rasumowsky, einer der wichtigsten Förderer Beethovens im ersten Jahrzehnt des 19. Jahrhunderts und russischer Botschafter in Wien, war auch ein hervorragender Amateurgeiger, der die zweite Geige in dem von ihm finanzierten Streichquartett spielte, das vom renommierten Ignaz Schuppanzigh geleitet wurde. Die drei ihm gewidmeten Quartette, Opus 59, veranlassten ihn, seinen Platz im Quartett aufzugeben. Er verschaffte den Mitgliedern dieses Quartetts 1808 eine feste Anstellung, die sogar eine lebenslange Rente beinhaltete. Anfangs stießen die drei Quartette des Opus 59 beim Wiener Publikum auf Widerstand. Nach den beiden Opusnummern 18 und 59, die jeweils aus einer Gruppe von Quartetten bestehen, ist Opus 74 ein Einzelwerk, das allgemein als eines der zugänglichsten gilt.

Artist(s)

Johannes Leertouwer (violin)

Johannes Leertouwer is chief conductor and artistic director of the recently formed Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht. In September of 2009, he conducted this orchestra in an exciting and much praised debut which featured a program of Stravinsky and Ravel and he will continue to lead the NPU in a series of concerts and special projects in the coming years. The orchestra performs on period instruments as well as repertoire of the nineteenth- and early twentieth century. It also features an extensive educational program, and therefore clearly carries the signature of its chief conductor. Johannes Leertouwer studied conducting with David Porcelijn and the legendary Finnish professor Jorma Panula, He has worked as guest conductor with various orchestras, such as the Noord Nederlands Orkest, choir...
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Johannes Leertouwer is chief conductor and artistic director of the recently formed Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht.
In September of 2009, he conducted this orchestra in an exciting and much praised debut which featured a program of Stravinsky and Ravel and he will continue to lead the NPU in a series of concerts and special projects in the coming years. The orchestra performs on period instruments as well as repertoire of the nineteenth- and early twentieth century. It also features an extensive educational program, and therefore clearly carries the signature of its chief conductor.
Johannes Leertouwer studied conducting with David Porcelijn and the legendary Finnish professor Jorma Panula, He has worked as guest conductor with various orchestras, such as the Noord Nederlands Orkest, choir and orchestra of the Netherlands Bach Society. He has also worked with orchestras in Belgium, France, Japan and Mexico. From 1989 to 2006 he was artistic director and conductor of the Netherlands Youth String Orchestra, and also conducted various projects at European conservatories in Paris, Antwerp, Leipzig and Amsterdam.
After studying violin with Bouw Lemkes in Amsterdam and Josef Suk in Vienna and Prague, Johannes Leertouwer decided to specialize in historical performance practice. He worked as concertmaster and soloist with a number of international period instrument ensembles and orchestras, such as Anima Eterna, and the orchestra and choir of the Nederlandse Bach Vereniging.
Together with his duo partners Menno van Delft (harpsichord) and Julian Reynolds (fortepiano) he has made a series of CD recordings on the Globe label which feature works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann. With the Schönbrunn Ensemble, of which he has been a member since its founding in 1987, he performs both in the Netherlands and abroad. He has also made a series of CD’s with this ensemble, the most recent of which contains works of Graf, Reicha and Ries. In 2006, the Mozart year, Johannes Leertouwer was the soloist and conductor in a highly acclaimed CD-recording of the complete works for violin and orchestra by Mozart (Challenge).
Since 1989 he has been a professor of violin at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. He gives masterclasses and guest teaches in many countries both within and outside of Europe. As a conductor he is able to draw not only on his years of experience with the ensembles and orchestras that are leading the way in historical performance practice, but also on his experience in Romantic and twentieth-century orchestral practice. Already during his violin studies he worked with world famous conductors such as Haitink, Abbado, Bernstein and Harnoncourt.
Johannes Leertouwer is a conductor with a broad repertoire and an exceptionally acute consciousness of style. From his specialization, the Viennese Classics, he has built up his repertoire without limiting himself to any particular style period. Among the works he has conducted are Sibelius’ Symphony No.5, Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion; he has also conducted world premieres of works by Patricio Wang, Maurice Horsthuis, Frank Agsteribbe and others.

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Franc Polman (violin)

Narratio Quartet

Het verhaal van het Narratio Quartet begon in 2009 toen het op uitnodiging van het Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht de vijf laatste kwartetten van Beethoven uitvoerde op vijf achtereenvolgende avonden in het festival. Juist deze late Beethoven kwartetten worden maar zelden gespeeld op oude instrumenten met darmsnaren en 19e-eeuwse strijkstokken. Sindsdien werkte het Narratio Quartet als het ware van achter naar voor; het speelde de complete serie Beethoven kwartetten inmiddels meerdere malen in Nederland en recent ook in Zwitserland. Het repertoire is inmiddels uitgebreid naar de latere 19e eeuw door middel van de drie Brahms kwartetten in combinatie met Schubert, Schumann en Mendelssohn. In de loop van 2024/2025 zal bij Challenge Records hun opname van de complete Beethoven Cyclus gespeeld...
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Het verhaal van het Narratio Quartet begon in 2009 toen het op uitnodiging van het Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht de vijf laatste kwartetten van Beethoven uitvoerde op vijf achtereenvolgende avonden in het festival. Juist deze late Beethoven kwartetten worden maar zelden gespeeld op oude instrumenten met darmsnaren en 19e-eeuwse strijkstokken. Sindsdien werkte het Narratio Quartet als het ware van achter naar voor; het speelde de complete serie Beethoven kwartetten inmiddels meerdere malen in Nederland en recent ook in Zwitserland. Het repertoire is inmiddels uitgebreid naar de latere 19e eeuw door middel van de drie Brahms kwartetten in combinatie met Schubert, Schumann en Mendelssohn. In de loop van 2024/2025 zal bij Challenge Records hun opname van de complete Beethoven Cyclus gespeeld op historische instrumenten verschijnen.

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Composer(s)

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include nine symphonies, five piano concertos, one violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, his great Mass the Missa solemnis, and one opera, Fidelio. Together with Mozart and Haydn, he was part of the First Viennese School.    Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire, Beethoven displayed his musical talents at an early age and was taught by his father Johann van Beethoven and by composer and conductor Christian Gottlob...
more
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include nine symphonies, five piano concertos, one violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, his great Mass the Missa solemnis, and one opera, Fidelio. Together with Mozart and Haydn, he was part of the First Viennese School. Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire, Beethoven displayed his musical talents at an early age and was taught by his father Johann van Beethoven and by composer and conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe. At the age of 21 he moved to Vienna, where he began studying composition with Joseph Haydn, and gained a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. He lived in Vienna until his death. By his late 20s his hearing began to deteriorate, and by the last decade of his life he was almost totally deaf. In 1811 he gave up conducting and performing in public but continued to compose; many of his most admired works come from these last 15 years of his life.

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Press

Play album Play album
Disc #1
01.
String Quartet Op. 59, No. 1 in F Major: I. Allegro
10:42
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, Dorothea Vogel, Viola de Hoog, Narratio Quartet
02.
String Quartet Op. 59, No. 1 in F Major: II. Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando
09:35
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, Dorothea Vogel, Viola de Hoog, Narratio Quartet
03.
String Quartet Op. 59, No. 1 in F Major: III. Adagio molto e mesto
02:33
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, Dorothea Vogel, Viola de Hoog, Narratio Quartet
04.
String Quartet Op. 59, No. 1 in F Major: IV. Thème russe. Allegro
09:36
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, Dorothea Vogel, Viola de Hoog, Narratio Quartet
05.
String Quartet Op. 59, No. 2 in E Minor: I. Allegro
11:14
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, Dorothea Vogel, Viola de Hoog, Narratio Quartet
06.
String Quartet Op. 59, No. 2 in E Minor: ?II. Molto Adagio. Si tratta questo pezzo con molto di sentimento
11:19
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, Dorothea Vogel, Viola de Hoog, Narratio Quartet
07.
String Quartet Op. 59, No. 2 in E Minor: III. Allegretto
08:05
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, Dorothea Vogel, Viola de Hoog, Narratio Quartet
08.
String Quartet Op. 59, No. 2 in E Minor: V. Finale. Presto
06:20
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, Dorothea Vogel, Viola de Hoog, Narratio Quartet

Disc #2
01.
String Quartet Op. 59, No. 3 in C Major: ?I. Introduzione. Andante con moto - Allegro vivace
11:56
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, Dorothea Vogel, Viola de Hoog, Narratio Quartet
02.
String Quartet Op. 59, No. 3 in C Major: II. Andante con moto quasi Allegretto
09:55
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, Dorothea Vogel, Viola de Hoog, Narratio Quartet
03.
String Quartet Op. 59, No. 3 in C Major: III. Menuetto grazioso - Trio
05:16
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, Dorothea Vogel, Viola de Hoog, Narratio Quartet
04.
String Quartet Op. 59, No. 3 in C Major: IV. Allegro molto
06:39
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, Dorothea Vogel, Viola de Hoog, Narratio Quartet
05.
String Quartet Op. 74 in E-flat Major: I. Poco Adagio - Allegro
10:37
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, Dorothea Vogel, Viola de Hoog, Narratio Quartet
06.
String Quartet Op. 74 in E-flat Major: II. Adagio ma non troppo
09:15
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, Dorothea Vogel, Viola de Hoog, Narratio Quartet
07.
String Quartet Op. 74 in E-flat Major: III. Presto leggieramente - Più presto quasi prestissimo
05:41
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, Dorothea Vogel, Viola de Hoog, Narratio Quartet
08.
String Quartet Op. 74 in E-flat Major: IV. Allegretto con variazioni
07:36
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Johannes Leertouwer, Franc Polman, Dorothea Vogel, Viola de Hoog, Narratio Quartet
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