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The Late Quartets Vol. 2 - Beethoven Op. 130 & 133 | Shostakovich Op. 133
Ludwig van Beethoven, Dmitri Shostakovich

Alma Quartet

The Late Quartets Vol. 2 - Beethoven Op. 130 & 133 | Shostakovich Op. 133

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917200287
Catnr: CC 720028
Release date: 23 October 2026
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1 CD
€ 19.95
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Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917200287
Catalogue number
CC 720028
Release date
23 October 2026
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
EN

About the album

Alma Quartet continues its ambitious Late Quartets series by bringing together two extraordinary works that share more than the same opus number. Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 13, Op. 130, with the monumental Grosse Fuge, Op. 133, travels from dark humour and gentle melancholy to the profoundly moving Cavatina and a finale that was so radical in 1826 that audiences struggled to comprehend it. Nearly two centuries later, the Grosse Fuge still sounds astonishingly modern - music Stravinsky famously considered “contemporary forever."

Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 12, Op. 133 forms a fascinating counterpart. Built around a twelve-tone series, it transforms an ostensibly modernist technique into music that is lyrical, emotional and surprisingly accessible. Its expansive second movement moves from fierce virtuosity and almost symphonic intensity towards a visceral, liberating conclusion. In Alma Quartet’s hands, these two Opus 133 worlds become part of a larger conversation across time - the second installment of their multi-year project pairing the late quartets of Beethoven and Shostakovich.

Artist(s)

Alma Quartet

Alma Quartet was formed in 2014 and quickly gained reputation as one of the most thrilling ensembles in Holland. Their debut album: Schulhoff Complete String Quartets has received stellar international praise. The Gramophone claimed 'this set shoots straight to the top' and also admired the quartet for being 'capable of the most seductive playing.' The album was chosen for the 2017 Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik 'Bestenliste' and was also featured on German national radio station SWR2, hailing Alma's Schulhoff cycle as the 'new reference recording.' ​ ​​ Their latest album: The Late Quartets Vol.1 with Shostakovich String Quartet No.11 and Beethoven String Quartet No.12 garnered acclaim from Spanish magazine Ritmo with a 5-star review stating: 'the publications of the Alma Quartet are an example to follow. A great first CD.' French magazine...
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Alma Quartet was formed in 2014 and quickly gained reputation as one of the most thrilling ensembles in Holland. Their debut album: Schulhoff Complete String Quartets has received stellar international praise. The Gramophone claimed 'this set shoots straight to the top' and also admired the quartet for being 'capable of the most seductive playing.'

The album was chosen for the 2017 Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik "Bestenliste" and was also featured on German national radio station SWR2, hailing Alma's Schulhoff cycle as the 'new reference recording.'

​​

Their latest album: The Late Quartets Vol.1 with Shostakovich String Quartet No.11 and Beethoven String Quartet No.12 garnered acclaim from Spanish magazine Ritmo with a 5-star review stating: 'the publications of the Alma Quartet are an example to follow. A great first CD.'

French magazine Diapason writes: 'Alma Quartet imbues [Shostakovich] with mysterious and undeniably poetic tones.'

Dutch magazine Luister gives the album one of the highest points claiming it's 'striking, robust and flawless.' And finally The American Record Guide is exceptionally generous in stating: 'as much as we may still love our old recordings, it's difficult to argue there are not many present-day groups as good as or BETTER than those old ensembles. The Alma Quartet is in the latter group.'

Korngold String Quartet No.1 | Piano Quintet with Severin von Eckardstein for Challenge Records received the prestigious Diapason d'Or in France and was the winner of the album of the year 2024 in the category chamber music of the renowned Associazione Nazionale Critici Musicali in Italy.

It has also been exceptionally well received by The Gramophone claiming there is a ‘[…] superb polish of the playing, a sense of freshness, discovery and sheer joy that leaps out from this recording’ as well as ‘this is intensely characterful playing that never sounds mannered – complex without becoming congested.’

Italian magazine Classic Voice gives the album 5 stars and says: 'The passionate interpretation restores all its communicative strength.'

De Volkskrant states: ‘Alma Quartet plays Korngold the way he would’ve wanted, slippery and insane.' On top of that Belgian newspaper De Standaard claims that ‘Alma Quartet knows how to capture the soul of Korngold.’

BBC Music Magazine writes: 'there's inventiveness and a sense of adventure in these burnished performances - utterly refined, yet warm and tender too.'

And ultimately the American Record Guide says: 'I might as well admit that the album sounds phenomenal.'

Korngold String Quartets Nos. 2-3 was recorded direct-to-disc without editing and has been ranked among the Top40 best albums of 2021 by De Volkskrant claiming 'Alma Quartet plays Korngold with a touch of soft nostalgia.'

De Standaard gave it a 5-star review claiming 'the Amsterdam foursome plays formidable [...]' and 'the result sounds as thrilling as a live concert.'

BBC Radio 3 celebrated their 'uncompromising and emphatic performance style' as well as saying that it's 'like close-up magic, listening to this.'

NRC Handelsblad stated that 'the foursome [...] shows the listener in one go the most beautiful flowers along the deepest abysses' and Het Parool praised the quartet for their 'enchanting masters level playing' and finds that 'the result commands great admiration.'

Spanish magazine Ritmo gave it 5 stars and claimed their recording is 'the best available [...] for understanding the expressive world of Korngold.'

​As well as performing the classical repertoire, the quartet is keen on collaborating with artists of other genres such as singer-songwriter Nana Adjoa, composer Sarah Neutkens, big band New Cool Collective with which they released Opus 127, an EP containing jazz variations on Beethoven's twelfth string quartet and composer and jazz pianist Rembrandt Frerichs with whom they released Piano Concertos Nos. 1-2 of which De Volkskrant stated they play '[...] with a lot of flair and finesse.'

The quartet has recorded for a number of labels including Sony Classical, Universal Music, BIS Records, Challenge Records, Gutman Records and TRPTK. They've also collaborated with techno producer Henrik Schwarz on a multitude of projects.

On their album CCMYK, they explore the possibilities of seamlessly fusing newly composed electronic and classical music into a new language. ​

The quartet has performed at prestigious concert halls in Germany, Spain, Japan, China, Hungary, Netherlands and Turkey including Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonie Cologne, Oji Hall Ginza Tokyo, Kyoto Concert Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Müpa Budapest, Konzerthaus Berlin, Tonhalle Düsseldorf, De Doelen Rotterdam, Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ Amsterdam, Sociedad Filarmónica de Bilbao, Süreyya Opera House Istanbul, Tianjin Grand Theatre, Harbin Concert Hall, Wuhan Qintai Concert Hall, as well as clubs and theaters such as Jazz Cafe London, Philharmonie Haarlem, Diligentia Den Haag, Volksbühne Berlin, Temple Beijing, Musis Arnhem, Paradiso Amsterdam, Bimhuis and Kulturbrauerei Berlin.​

They have played during captivating events and festivals such as String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam, Schiermonnikoog Festival, Schumannfest Düsseldorf, Festival Salon-de-Provence, Amsterdam Dance Event, XJazz Festival Berlin, Down The Rabbit Hole, Beyond the Pale Festival Ireland, Pop-Kultur Festival Berlin, Theater Spektakel Zurich and TEDx Amsterdam.​

Alma Quartet has collaborated with diverse artists such as Klaus Mäkelä, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Lisa Batiashvili, Martin Fröst, Denis Kozhukhin, Amihai Grosz, Philip Glass, Nico Muhly, Samuel Adams, Fabio di Càsola, Milica Djordjevic, Jörgen van Rijen, Hauschka, Julien Libeer, Lavinia Meijer, Ramon van Engelenhoven, Bugge Wesseltoft, Su Yeon Kim, Frank Braley, Mahsa Vahdat, Alma Sadé, Nicolas van Poucke, Ella van Poucke, Dominic Seldis, Caspar Vos, Nino Gvetadze and Frank Lammers.


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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...
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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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Dmitri Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich was a Russian pianist and composer of the Soviet period. He is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century. Shostakovich achieved fame in the Soviet Union under the patronage of Soviet chief of staff Mikhail Tukhachevsky, but later had a complex and difficult relationship with the government. Nevertheless, he received accolades and state awards and served in the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (1947–1962) and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (from 1962 until his death). A polystylist, Shostakovich developed a hybrid voice, combining a variety of different musical techniques into his works. His music is characterized by sharp contrasts, elements of the grotesque, and ambivalent tonality; the composer was also heavily influenced by the...
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Dmitri Shostakovich was a Russian pianist and composer of the Soviet period. He is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century.
Shostakovich achieved fame in the Soviet Union under the patronage of Soviet chief of staff Mikhail Tukhachevsky, but later had a complex and difficult relationship with the government. Nevertheless, he received accolades and state awards and served in the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (1947–1962) and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (from 1962 until his death).
A polystylist, Shostakovich developed a hybrid voice, combining a variety of different musical techniques into his works. His music is characterized by sharp contrasts, elements of the grotesque, and ambivalent tonality; the composer was also heavily influenced by the neo-classical style pioneered by Igor Stravinsky, and (especially in his symphonies) by the late Romanticism associated with Gustav Mahler.
Shostakovich's orchestral works include 15 symphonies and six concerti. His chamber output includes 15 string quartets, a piano quintet, two piano trios, and two pieces for string octet. His solo piano works include two sonatas, an early set of preludes, and a later set of 24 preludes and fugues. Other works include three operas, several song cycles, ballets, and a substantial quantity of film music; especially well known is The Second Waltz, Op. 99, music to the film The First Echelon (1955–1956), as well as the suites of music composed for The Gadfly.

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Press

Play album Play album
01.
String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130: I. Adagio ma non troppo - Allegro
14:12
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Alma Quartet, Marc Daniel van Biemen, Benjamin Peled, Jeroen Woudstra, Joris van den Berg
02.
String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130: II. Presto
01:58
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Alma Quartet, Marc Daniel van Biemen, Benjamin Peled, Jeroen Woudstra, Joris van den Berg
03.
String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130: III. Andante con moto ma non troppo. Poco scherzoso
06:58
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Alma Quartet, Marc Daniel van Biemen, Benjamin Peled, Jeroen Woudstra, Joris van den Berg
04.
String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130: IV. Alla danza tedesca. Allegro assai
03:30
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Alma Quartet, Marc Daniel van Biemen, Benjamin Peled, Jeroen Woudstra, Joris van den Berg
05.
String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130: V. Cavatina. Adagio molto espressivo
07:06
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Alma Quartet, Marc Daniel van Biemen, Benjamin Peled, Jeroen Woudstra, Joris van den Berg
06.
Grosse Fuge in B-flat Major, Op. 133
17:44
(Ludwig van Beethoven) Alma Quartet, Marc Daniel van Biemen, Benjamin Peled, Jeroen Woudstra, Joris van den Berg
07.
String Quartet No. 12 in D-flat Major, Op. 133: I. Moderato - Allegretto
07:59
(Dmitri Shostakovich) Alma Quartet, Marc Daniel van Biemen, Benjamin Peled, Jeroen Woudstra, Joris van den Berg
08.
String Quartet No. 12 in D-flat Major, Op. 133: II. Allegretto - Adagio - Moderato - Allegretto
20:24
(Dmitri Shostakovich) Alma Quartet, Marc Daniel van Biemen, Benjamin Peled, Jeroen Woudstra, Joris van den Berg

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