Korngold String Quartets Nos. 1, 2 & 3 Doric String Quartet
Album info
Album-Release:
2010
HRA-Release:
04.03.2011
Label: Chandos
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
Artist: Doric String Quartet
Composer: Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Album including Album cover Booklet (PDF)
- Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897 - 1957): String Quartet No. 1 in A Major, Op. 16:
- 1 I. Allegro molto 07:51
- 2 II. Adagio quasi fantasia 08:39
- 3 III. Intermezzo 05:01
- 4 IV. Finale: Allegretto amabile e comodo 10:39
- String Quartet No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 26:
- 5 I. Allegro 05:38
- 6 II. Intermezzo: Allegretto con moto 03:37
- 7 III. Larghetto - Lento 07:14
- 8 IV. Finale: Tempo di valse 05:23
- String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 34:
- 9 I. Allegro Moderato 06:33
- 10 II. Scherzo 03:51
- 11 III. Sostenuto 09:29
- 12 IV. Finale 05:21
Info for Korngold String Quartets Nos. 1, 2 & 3
The Doric String Quartet is now firmly established as one of the outstanding quartets of its generation. Now in its eleventh season, it regularly performs at major festivals and venues throughout the UK as well as abroad in continental Europe and Asia. This is the Quartet’s debut CD on Chandos as exclusive artists.
Most famous for his lushly romantic film scores, Erich Wolfgang Korngold wrote a quantity of music for the concert hall, the stage, as well as three highly individual string quartets between the years 1920 and 1945. Korngold was one of the great prodigies in the history of classical music, and by the time he started work on his First String Quartet (completed 1923), he had already written what many consider to be his magnum opus, the opera Die tote Stadt.
The three quartets range widely in style and are all very appealing. The First is notable for its strikingly adventurous harmony, the Second (1933) for its sheer wealth of melodic appeal, whilst the Third (1945) uses material from his film scores, and is as varied and dramatic as many of the films which he scored.
‘This is an ensemble, young but mature of insight, that plays Haydn’s music with spirit, illuminating its blend of wit and sophistication, grace and vivacity, cunning and seemingly effortless spontaneity… The Doric’s performances, without exaggeration but with just the right degree of elucidation, revealed the music’s extraordinary originality and the way that Haydn can explore the potential of his thematic material so thoroughly yet so artlessly… Unequivocally, these were performances of terrific panache and perception, seeming to get right under the skin of Haydn’s creative genius.’ (The Sunday Telegraph)
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957)
String Quartet No. 1, Op. 16 (1920-23)
in A major - in A-Dur - en la majeur
Dem Rosé-Quartett gewidmet
I Allegro molto
II Adagio, quasi Fantasia. Langsam, mit großem Ausdruck
III Intermezzo. Ziemlich lebhaft, mit Grazie
IV Finale. Allegretto amabile e comodo
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 26 (1933)
in E flat major - in Es-Dur - en mi bémol majeur
I Allegro
II Intermezzo. Allegretto con moto - Molto più mosso -
III Larghetto. Lento - Con molto sentimento
IV Waltz (Finale). Tempo di Valse - Meno mosso - Poco più mosso - Poco meno mosso -
String Quartet No. 3, Op. 34 (1944-45)
in D major - in D-Dur - en ré majeur
Dedicated to Bruno Walter in admiration and friendship
I Allegro moderato - Tranquillo - Subito agitato - Tempo I - Poco meno
II Scherzo. Allegro molto
Trio. L'istesso tempo - Meno mosso - Più mosso -
Scherzo D.C. al Fine
III Sostenuto. Like a Folk Tune - Poco più mosso - Appassionato - Molto meno, dolce - Tempo I
IV Finale. Allegro - Allegro con fuoco - Più mosso
Doric String Quartet:
Alex Redington violin
Jonathan Stone violin
Simon Tandree viola
John Myerscough cello
The Doric String Quartet is now firmly established as one of the outstanding quartets of their generation. In 2008 they won 1st prize in the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in Japan, 2nd prize at the Premio Paolo Borciani International String Quartet Competition in Italy, where they also received a special mention for their performance of Haydn, and the Ensemble Prize at the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany.
Now in its 12th season highlights over the last year have included a critically acclaimed Haydn evening at Wigmore Hall broadcast by BBC Radio 3, debut recitals in Paris (Auditorium du Louvre), Milan and Frankfurt, and visits to the Schwetzinger, Florestan, Isle of Man and East Neuk Festivals. Further afield the Quartet toured throughout Japan and returned to Israel and South East Asia. They have collaborated with Mark Padmore, Chen Halevi, Julius Drake, Piers Lane, Melvyn Tan, the Leopold String Trio and Florestan Trio.
During 2009/10 the Quartet return to Wigmore Hall four times, as Quartet and in recitals with Philip Langridge, Andrew Kennedy (for a world premiere) and Alasdair Beatson. Future engagements include recitals at the Konzerthaus in Berlin and in Lucerne, Brussels and Hamburg, return visits to Israel and Italy, and debut concerts in Australia, New Zealand, Spain, and the USA.
In November the Doric’s first commercial CD is released on the Wigmore Hall Live label of their Haydn concert at Wigmore Hall on 15 January 2009 and in 2010 they record their first CD for Chandos as part of a long-term collaboration.
Formed in 1998 at Pro Corda, The National School for Young Chamber Music Players, in Suffolk, from 2002 the Doric String Quartet studied on the Paris-based ProQuartet Professional Training Program, where they worked with members of the Alban Berg, Artemis, Hagen and LaSalle Quartets and with Gyorgy Kurtag. The Quartet continue to work with Rainer Schmidt (Hagen Quartet) at the Music Academy in Basel.
In 2000 the Doric String Quartet won the inaugural Bristol Millennium Chamber Music Competition which led to a seven year residency at the Wiltshire Music Centre combining a concerts series with education work across the region. They continue this relationship as ‘Artists in Association’. The Quartet went on to give recitals at the Purcell Room and Wigmore Hall under the auspices of the Park Lane Group, appeared at the ORF (Austrian Radio) Funkhaus in Vienna in 2003 and made their Edinburgh Festival debut in 2006.
Alex Redington and Jonathan Stone completed their postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music in 2005 where they studied with Howard Davis. Simon Tandree studied in Saarbrücken and Detmold with Dietmut Poppen. John Myerscough graduated from Selwyn College, Cambridge in 2003 and is now a Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he studies with Louise Hopkins.
The Doric String Quartet acknowledges the generous support of an Anonymous Foundation.
Booklet for Korngold String Quartets Nos. 1, 2 & 3