Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: String Quartets Nos. 3 & 5, Andante & Scherzo, Op. 81 Zemlinsky Quartet

• Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809 - 1847): String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44 No. 1:
• 1 Bartholdy: String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44 No. 1: I. Molto allegro vivace 11:31
• 2 Bartholdy: String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44 No. 1: II. Menuetto. Un poco allegretto 05:26
• 3 Bartholdy: String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44 No. 1: III. Andante espressivo con moto 05:19
• 4 Bartholdy: String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44 No. 1: IV. Presto con brio 06:44
• Four Pieces for String Quartet, Op. 81:
• 5 Bartholdy: Four Pieces for String Quartet, Op. 81: No. 1, Tema con variazioni, in E Major (Andante sostenuto) 06:16
• 6 Bartholdy: Four Pieces for String Quartet, Op. 81: No. 2, Scherzo, in A Minor (Allegro leggiero) 03:32
• String Quartet No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 44 No. 3:
• 7 Bartholdy: String Quartet No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 44 No. 3: I. Allegro vivace 11:47
• 8 Bartholdy: String Quartet No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 44 No. 3: II. Scherzo. Assai leggiero e vivace 03:53
• 9 Bartholdy: String Quartet No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 44 No. 3: III. Adagio non troppo 07:30
• 10 Bartholdy: String Quartet No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 44 No. 3: IV. Molto allegro con fuoco 08:22
• Total Runtime 01:10:20

Info for Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: String Quartets Nos. 3 & 5, Andante & Scherzo, Op. 81

In these years of 1837-38, Mendelssohn was at the height of his humanist glory, concurrently violinist, violist, pianist, composer, conductor (of the Gewandhaus in Leipzig), still a painter in his already too-rare spare time, and a newlywed… ‘At the moment, everything comes so easily and so nicely under my pen’, he wrote, this exemplified by the Opus 44 Quartets with their radiant, virtuoso allegros and slow movements tinged with nostalgia— irresistible ‘songs without words’ for strings.

The value judgements on Mendelssohn’s oeuvre have fluctuated amazingly since his premature death on 4 November 1847, in his thirty-ninth year. At the time, the music world mourned ‘the greatest composer of his era’. A few years later, Berlioz then Wagner – under the pseudonym ‘Karl Freigedank’ in a hateful, jealous pamphlet titled Das Judentum in der Musik (‘Judaism in Music’) – reduced him to a pseudo-Beethovenian $gure in a tailcoat too large for his frail shoulders. Up until the early 20th century, his music remained highly regarded in England whereas on the Continent, his star shone thanks only to a few pieces from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. ...

Zemlinsky Quartet

Zemlinsky Quartet
Founded in 1994 while the members were still students, the ZEMLINSKY QUARTET has become a much lauded example of the Czech string quartet tradition. The Zemlinsky Quartet won the First Grand Prize at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in 2010. They have also been awarded top prizes at the Banff International String Quartet Competition (2007), Prague Spring International Music Competition (2005) and London International String Quartet Competition (2006), where they also received the Audience Prize. The Quartet was recipient of the Alexander Zemlinsky Advancement Award in 2008. Other notable prizes include Beethoven International Competition (1999), New Talent Bratislava (2003), Martinů Foundation String Quartet Competition (2004), and the Prize of Czech Chamber Music Society (2005). In the season 2016/17, Zemlinsky Quartet was appointed as the residential ensemble of the Czech Chamber Music Society.

While students at the Prague Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts Prague, the ensemble was coached by members of renowned Czech string quartets including the Talich, Prague, Kocian and Pražák Quartets. The ensemble also took part in several master classes including ProQuartet, in France and Sommerakademie in Reichenau, Austria where they were awarded First Prize for the best interpretation of a work by Janáček. From 2005 to 2008, the quartet studied with Walter Levin, the first violinist of LaSalle Quartet. Their recent mentor has been Josef Klusoň, the violist of the Pražák Quartet.

Zemlinsky Quartet is named after the Austrian composer, conductor and teacher Alexander Zemlinsky (1871-1942), whose enormous contribution to Czech, German and Jewish culture during his 16-year residence in Prague had been underrated until recently. His four string quartets (the second one being dedicated to his student and brother-in-law Arnold Schönberg) belong to the basic repertoire of the ensemble. Since 2005, the quartet has maintained a special relationship with the Alexander Zemlinsky Foundation in Vienna.

The Zemlinsky Quartet performs regularly in the Czech Republic and abroad (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Monaco, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Great Britain, Ireland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Canada, USA, Brazil, Japan, South Korea). Recent major appearances of the Zemlinsky Quartet include London’s Wigmore Hall, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Library of Congress, Place des Arts in Montreal, Prague Spring Festival, and their New York debut on Schneider/New School Concerts Series. Their vast repertoire contains more than 200 works ranging from Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Dvorak to works by contemporary composers. The members of the ensemble also perform as soloists and are individual prize-winners of several competitions (Concertino Praga, Spohr International Competition Weimar, Tribune of Young Artists UNESCO, Rotary Music Competition Nürnberg, Beethoven International Competition, Kocian International Competition).

Between 2006-2011, the Zemlinsky Quartet were Assistant Quartet-in-Residence at Musikakademie Basel in Switzerland. Music education is an important part of their professional life and during their tours, the quartet is often invited to give master classes to students of any age. They also perform educational concerts for students. Recently, František Souček and Petr Holman have been appointed Professors at the Prague Conservatory.

Booklet for Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: String Quartets Nos. 3 & 5, Andante & Scherzo, Op. 81