Janáček & Haas: String Quartets Escher String Quartet

• Leoš Janáček (1854 - 1928): String Quartet No. 1, "Kreutzer Sonata":
• 1 Janáček: String Quartet No. 1, "Kreutzer Sonata": I. Adagio - Con moto 04:15
• 2 Janáček: String Quartet No. 1, "Kreutzer Sonata": II. Con moto 04:20
• 3 Janáček: String Quartet No. 1, "Kreutzer Sonata": III. Con moto - Vivo - Andante 04:13
• 4 Janáček: String Quartet No. 1, "Kreutzer Sonata": IV. Con moto - (Adagio) - Più mosso 05:46
• String Quartet No. 2, "Intimate Letters":
• 5 Janáček: String Quartet No. 2, "Intimate Letters": I. Andante - Con moto - Allegro 05:54
• 6 Janáček: String Quartet No. 2, "Intimate Letters": II. Adagio - Vivace 05:54
• 7 Janáček: String Quartet No. 2, "Intimate Letters": III. Moderato - Adagio - Allegro 05:49
• 8 Janáček: String Quartet No. 2, "Intimate Letters": IV. Allegro - Andante - Adagio 08:01
• Pavel Haas (1899 - 1944): String Quartet No. 2, Op. 7, "From the Monkey Mountains":
• 9 Haas: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 7, "From the Monkey Mountains": I. Landscape 10:10
• 10 Haas: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 7, "From the Monkey Mountains": II. Cart, Driver and Horse 04:40
• 11 Haas: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 7, "From the Monkey Mountains": III. The Moon and I 08:05
• 12 Haas: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 7, "From the Monkey Mountains": IV. A Wild Night 08:39
• Total Runtime 01:15:46

Info for Janáček & Haas: String Quartets

While the concept of the programmatic and autobiographical quartet seems to have been introduced by Beethoven, nowhere has it been taken up more forcefully than in the Czech lands, as the works presented here attest. Leoš Janáček’s first quartet, subtitled ‘Kreutzer Sonata’, is based on a novella by Leo Tolstoy, which deals with such subjects as marriage, adultery and murder, all of which are evoked here by highly expressive music. The second quartet, the last major work he completed, is subtitled ‘Intimate Letters’. The special feature of this unique and miraculous quartet, full of love songs and eruptions, is the intense and euphoric expression of the composer’s inspirational and unrequited passion for a young woman. Pavel Haas, who studied with Janáček in Brno in the 1920s, composed his second string quartet subtitled ‘From the Monkey Mountains’ in 1925. Although the composer claims that he intended to evoke ‘pleasant summer holidays in the country’, it seems that the work also evokes a love story. A surprise is in store for us in the final movement, entitled ‘A Wild Night’: percussion is added to the string quartet and contributes to the jazzy atmosphere. It is played here by the Scottish virtuoso Colin Currie.

"their success at dramatising the storieswithout-words of both quartets is much aided by exceptionally vivid studio engineering, achieved by Thore Brinkmann at Potton Hall." (Gramophone Magazine)

Escher String Quartet Colin Currie, percussion

The Escher String Quartet
The Escher String Quartet has received acclaim for its profound musical insight and rare tonal beauty. Championed by the Emerson String Quartet, the group was on the BBC New Generation Artists scheme from 2010-2012, giving debuts at both the Wigmore Hall and the BBC Proms at Cadogan Hall. In its home town of New York, the ensemble serves as Artists of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, where last season they presented a critically acclaimed 3-concert series featuring the quartets of Benjamin Britten. In 2013, the Quartet became one of the very few chamber ensembles to be awarded the prestigious Avery Fischer Career Grant.

Within months of its inception in 2005, the Escher Quartet was invited by both Pinchas Zukerman and Itzhak Perlman to be Quartet in Residence at each artist’s summer festival: the Young Artists Programme at Canada’s National Arts Centre; and the Perlman Chamber Music Program on Shelter Island, NY. In addition, the quartet has since collaborated with artists including Khatia Buniatishvili, Leon Fleischer, David Finckel, Wu Han, Lynn Harrell, Joseph Kalichstein, and Jason Vieaux, as well as jazz vocalist Kurt Elling.

The Escher Quartet has performed at the Cheltenham and City of London festivals, the Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, the 92nd Street Y in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC and at the Ravinia and Caramoor festivals. Elsewhere, the group has toured China and made its Australian debut at the Perth International Arts Festival. Last season, the Escher Quartet returned to the Wigmore Hall and made debuts in Switzerland at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève and in Austria at the Schloss Esterházy in Eisenstadt. Highlights in the United States included performances at Northwestern University, the Coleman Chamber Music Society and the Buffalo Chamber Music Society.

The current season sees the quartet’s debut at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, as well as at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Israel; in addition, the group tours the UK with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, and continues its relationship with the Wigmore Hall, returning to collaborate with jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman. The Escher Quartet gives further performances at New York’s Lincoln Center and finishes the season with a return to Music@Menlo. Further significant debuts follow next season including Berlin’s Konzerthaus, the Rio International Chamber Music Week in Brazil and the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival, as well as a debut appearance at London’s Kings Place.

The Escher Quartet has recorded the complete Zemlinsky String Quartets on the Naxos label and released Vol. 1 in July 2013; Vol. 2 follows in Summer 2014. Forthcoming releases include the Mendelssohn Quartet cycle on the BIS label.

The Escher Quartet takes its name from Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher, inspired by Escher’s method of interplay between individual components working together to form a whole.

Booklet for Janáček & Haas: String Quartets