Mendelssohn: String Quartets Op. 13, Op. 44/ 1, Op. 80. Artemis Quartet

• 1 I. Molto allegro vivace 12:39
• 2 II. Menuetto: Un poco allegretto 05:54
• 3 III. Andante espressivo ma con moto 06:25
• 4 IV. Presto con brio 06:40
• 5 I. Allegro vivace assai 07:03
• 6 II. Allegro assai 04:24
• 7 III. Adagio 07:57
• 8 IV. Finale: Allegro molto 05:53
• 9 I. Adagio - Allegro vivace 08:13
• 10 II. Adagio non lento 08:10
• 11 III. Intermezzo: Allegretto con moto - Allegro di molto 04:54
• 12 IV. Presto - Adagio non lento 09:35
• Total Runtime 01:27:47

Info for Mendelssohn: String Quartets Op. 13, Op. 44/ 1, Op. 80.

The Artemis enlarge perceptions, push frontiers and perhaps question received wisdom,” wrote Gramophone of the Artemis Quartet’s 2012 Schubert album. The Berlin-based ensemble now sheds new light on Mendelssohn with these three works from three distinct periods in the composer’s career: his late adolescence, the year before he turned 30, and the final months of his short life, overshadowed by the death of his beloved sister.

The quartets of Felix Mendelssohn featured prominently in the Artemis Quartet’s performing schedule for 2012 and 2013. They appeared on programmes with works by Beethoven and Schubert, but also – more unexpectedly – alongside arrangements of Bach by Astor Piazzolla, Argentina’s king of tango, and the Quartet No 2 by his compatriot Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983).

These juxtapositions typify the Artemis Quartet’s questing, thought-provoking approach to its repertoire. As Gramophone wrote in its review of the ensemble’s 2012 Schubert album, originally released on Virgin Classics: “The Artemis enlarge perceptions, push frontiers and perhaps question received wisdom.” Classical Music magazine, meanwhile, spoke of “Bold, unflinching readings...that nevertheless offer playing of great delicacy and refinement in quieter passages,” adding that “... with some of the finest Schubert playing on disc...this is urgently recommended.”

The Artemis Quartet’s cellist, Eckart Runge, feels that “Mendelssohn is still a misunderstood composer. Some people continue to view him as somehow superficial and lacking in substance. The truth is that he was a huge talent and a huge intellect. For instance, his rediscovery and advocacy of Bach is reflected in his music. His quartets are both highly sophisticated and profoundly eloquent – they have both great emotional directness and that particular depth that characterises many composers’ work in the genre. It is also worth remembering that Mendelssohn holds a special place in cultural history, both Classical and Romantic and uniting both Germany’s Christian heritage – exemplified in the music of Bach – and the Jewish intellectual tradition.” [The composer was the grandson of the Enlightenment philosopher Moses Mendelssohn.] The new CD, containing three of Mendelssohn’s six quartets, brings works from three distinct periods in the composer’s life: No 2 in A minor, op 13, written in 1827, when he was still a teenager; No 3 in D major, op 44, No 1, from 1838 – by which stage he was already at the peak of his career, and No 6 in A minor, op 80, composed just months before he died at the age of 38.

“No 2 and No 6 could both be described as quite radical works, while No 3 is more academic in character, showing his mastery of the form,” explains Eckart Runge. “No 2 is tightly and daringly written, taking inspiration from Beethoven’s op 132; it makes use of techniques like tremolando and recitative, which only became part of the vocabulary of the string quartet with Beethoven’s experimentation in his late works. No 6 is even more radical, though. It was written shortly after the death of Mendelssohn’s beloved sister, Fanny. He concentrates the expression of his grief into 23 minutes of music. It is dense and intensely emotional, with no room for wasted thoughts or decorative elements.”

In Runge’s words, the members of the Artemis Quartet “always try to discover what’s new or modern in whatever we play ... we want to ensure its immediacy.” Since the release of the ensemble’s Schubert CD, there has been a change in its personnel, with Vineta Sareika replacing Natalia Prishepenko as its first violinist in the 2012/13 season. “Change in a quartet’s line-up can bring new inspiration – an opportunity to broaden horizons and introduce fresh ideas – but we also wanted to ensure continuity. When we recruit a new member, we don’t look for a carbon copy of the player who is leaving. We look for the new member to bring something different, but without skewing the essential character of the group. We are not afraid to take risks, which can bring an extra intensity to what we do. The Artemis Quartet does not undertake to perform a huge repertoire, but the way we work on music is highly concentrated. We go very deep.”

Vineta Sareika, violin
Gregor Sigl, violin
Friedemann Weigle, viola
Eckart Runge, violoncello

Recorded at Studio P4, Berlin 2013
Recorded and engineered by Christoph Franke
Produced by Alain Lanceron

Artemis Quartet
was founded in 1989 at the Musikhochschule Lübeck, and is recognised today as one of the foremost quartets in the world. Their mentors include Walter Levin, Alfred Brendel, the Alban Berg Quartet, the Juilliard Quartet and the Emerson Quartet.

The ensemble had its international breakthrough with first prizes at the ARD Wettbewerb in 1996 and at “Premio Borciani” half a year later. Subsequently, the musicians received an invitation to the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, where they were able to expand their musical studies and enjoy interdisciplinary exchange with renowned scholars.

Since its successful debut at the Berlin Philharmonie in 1999, the quartet has performed in all the great music centres and international festivals in Europe, the USA, Japan, South America and Australia. In July 2007, the ensemble greeted new members Gregor Sigl and Friedemann Weigle; in August 2012, the Latvian violinist Vineta Sareika took up the post of 1st violin.

In 2003, the Beethoven-Haus Society awarded the Artemis Quartet an honorary membership in recognition of its interpretations of Beethoven's works. Film director Bruno Monsaingeon created an impressive portrait of the musicians and their performance of Beethoven's Grosse Fuge op. 133 in his 2001 film “Strings Attached”.

As a celebration of its special affinity for Beethoven’s music, as well as its 20th anniversary as an ensemble, the quartet embarked on a Beethoven cycle in 2009, which was performed over two seasons in Berlin, Brussels, Florence, Cologne, London, Paris and Rome. The project culminated in a recording of the complete quartets with Virgin Classics/EMI. The “Beethoven Complete” project was awarded the prestigious French “Grand Prix de l’Académie Charles Cros.”

Since 2004, the Artemis Quartet has been programming its own critically renowned series in the Berlin Philharmonie and, in addition, was named Quartet in Residence at the Vienna Konzerthaus in 2011.

In recognition of its 2012 recording of the three great Schubert quartets, the Artemis Quartet has been invited to design a concert series featuring these works and many guest artists in the Salle Pleyel in Paris for the 2013/14 season.

Collaborations with other musicians have always been an important source of inspiration for the ensemble. The quartet has toured with such personalities as Sabine Meyer, Elisabeth Leonskaya, Juliane Banse and Jörg Widmann. Some collaborations have also been documented on CDs, such as the Brahms and Schubert piano quintets with Leif Ove Andsnes, the Schubert quintet with Truls Mørk or Schoenberg’s “Verklärte Nacht” with Thomas Kakuska and Valentin Erben of the Alban Berg quartet.

The Artemis Quartet has had an exclusive recording contract with Virgin Classics/EMI since 2005; they can boast of an extensive discography. Their recordings have been recognized with the prestigious “Gramophone Award” as well as the “Diapason d’Or” and the ECHO-Klassik (twice).

A focus on contemporary music is an important part of the ensemble's work, in part because they wish to keep developing an eye for new elements in already well-established music. Composers such as Mauricio Sotelo (2004), Jörg Widmann (2006) and Thomas Larcher (2008) have written pieces for the Artemis Quartet. The premiere of a concerto for quartet and orchestra by Daniel Schnyder is planned for 2014.

In addition to their concert careers, the four musicians are professors at the Universität der Künste in Berlin and at the Chapelle de la Reine Elisabeth in Brussels.

Booklet for Mendelssohn: String Quartets Op. 13, Op. 44/ 1, Op. 80.