Beethoven: Late String Quartets, Op. 130 & Grosse Fuge, Op. 133 Brentano String Quartet

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130
• 1l. Adagio ma non troppo - Allegro14:32
• 2ll. Presto02:01
• 3lll. Andante con moto ma non troppo07:10
• 4lV. Alla tanza tedesca (Allegro assai)02:58
• 5V. Cavatine (Adagio molto espressivo)07:40
• 6Vl. Finale (Allegro)10:46
• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Grosse Fuge in B-Flat Major, Op. 133
• 7Ouverture. Allegro – Meno mosso e moderato15:30
• Total Runtime01:00:37

Info for Beethoven: Late String Quartets, Op. 130 & Grosse Fuge, Op. 133

The Brentano Quartet delivers the third volume of Beethoven's Late Quartets for Aeon, this disc featuring Opp. 130 and 133. The relation between form and language seems to haunt all the writing of his Quartet in B flat major. Indeed, the composer struggles with the enigmatic question of our intimate experience in relation to music and the sense of musical composition. On the other hand, in the Grosse Fuge, op.133, Beethoven the visionary proclaims his unshakeable faith in a world like a will facing menace and chaos. The pertinence of the struggle marks the structure and character of every page of the quartet, one of the composer's most inspired. Impossible not to be impressed by the sharpness of the stroke, the clarity of the discourse and the intensity of the affects. Brilliant virtuosos, the superb mastery of the Brentanos has made them famous and displays its full power in the release of this final volume.

Brentano String Quartet:
Mark Steinberg, violin
Serena Canin, violin
Misha Amory, viola
Nina Maria Lee, cello

Brentano String Quartet
Since its inception in 1992, the Brentano String Quartet has appeared throughout the world to popular and critical acclaim. “Passionate, uninhibited and spellbinding,” raves the London Independent; the New York Times extols its “luxuriously warm sound [and] yearning lyricism”; the Philadelphia Inquirer praises its “seemingly infallible instincts for finding the center of gravity in every phrase and musical gesture”; and the Times (London) opines, “the Brentanos are a magnificent string quartet…This was wonderful, selfless music-making.” Within a few years of its formation, the Quartet garnered the first Cleveland Quartet Award and the Naumburg Chamber Music Award; and in 1996 the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center invited them to be the inaugural members of Chamber Music Society Two, a program which was to become a coveted distinction for chamber groups and individuals. The Quartet had its first European tour in 1997, and was honored in the U.K. with the Royal Philharmonic Award for Most Outstanding Debut. That debut recital was at London’s Wigmore Hall, and the Quartet has continued its warm relationship with Wigmore, appearing there regularly and serving as the hall’s Quartet-in-residence in the 2000-01 season.

In recent seasons the Quartet has traveled widely, appearing all over the United States and Canada, in Europe, Japan and Australia. It has performed in the world’s most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York; the Library of Congress in Washington; the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; the Konzerthaus in Vienna; Suntory Hall in Tokyo; and the Sydney Opera House. The Quartet has participated in summer festivals such as Aspen, the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, the Edinburgh Festival, the Kuhmo Festival in Finland, the Taos School of Music and the Caramoor Festival.

In addition to performing the entire two-century range of the standard quartet repertoire, the Brentano Quartet has a strong interest in both very old and very new music. It has performed many musical works pre-dating the string quartet as a medium, among them Madrigals of Gesualdo, Fantasias of Purcell, and secular vocal works of Josquin. Also, the quartet has worked closely with some of the most important composers of our time, among them Elliott Carter, Charles Wuorinen, Chou Wen-chung, Steven Mackey, Bruce Adolphe, and György Kurtág. The Quartet has commissioned works from Wuorinen, Adolphe, Mackey, David Horne and Gabriela Frank. The Quartet celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2002 by commissioning ten composers to write companion pieces for selections from Bach’s Art of Fugue, the result of which was an electrifying and wide-ranging single concert program. The Quartet has also worked with the celebrated poet Mark Strand, commissioning poetry from him to accompany works of Haydn and Webern.

The Quartet has been privileged to collaborate with such artists as soprano Jessye Norman, pianist Richard Goode, and pianist Mitsuko Uchida. The Quartet enjoys an especially close relationship with Ms. Uchida, appearing with her on stages in the United States, Europe, and Japan.

The Quartet has recorded the Opus 71 Quartets of Haydn, and has also recorded a Mozart disc for Aeon Records, consisting of the K. 464 Quartet and the K. 593 Quintet, with violist Hsin-Yun Huang. In the area of newer music, the Quartet has released a disc of the music of Steven Mackey on Albany Records, and has also recorded the music of Bruce Adolphe, Chou Wen-chung and Charles Wuorinen.

In 1998, cellist Nina Lee joined the Quartet, succeeding founding member Michael Kannen. The following season the Quartet became the first Resident String Quartet at Princeton University. The Quartet’s duties at the University are wide-ranging, including performances at least once a semester, as well as workshops with graduate composers, coaching undergraduates in chamber music, and assisting in other classes at the Music Department.

The Quartet is named for Antonie Brentano, whom many scholars consider to be Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved”, the intended recipient of his famous love confession.

Booklet for Beethoven: Late String Quartets, Op. 130 & Grosse Fuge, Op. 133