Quarteto Carlos Gomes - Mendelssohn: String Quartets No. 1, 2 & 3 (2023) [Official Digital Download 24/48]

In 2022, at the end of a series of performances dedicated to Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), Claudio Cruz (violin), Adonhiran Reis (violin), Gabriel Marin (viola), and Alceu Reis (cello) from the award-winning Carlos Gomes Quartet, decided to record the entirety of Mendelssohn’s string quartets. In this project with the Azul Music label, the first volume is the album Mendelssohn: String Quartets No. 1, 2 & 3.

Mendelssohn simultaneously published his first two quartets — No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 12 (1829), and No. 2 in A Major, Op. 13 (1827) —, but he inverted the chronological order when numbering these pieces that, even in his youth, showed his full maturity. The subsequent Quartet — No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44 No. 1 (1838) — is a work the composer was proud of, as evidenced by his letter from July 30, 1838, to violinist and friend Ferdinand David (1810-1873).

In the Carlos Gomes Quartet’s interpretation, the Canzonetta, the second movement of Quartet No. 1, begins with a combination of vigor and fluidity, building a dizzying scenario ahead in the “più mosso” section. In the opening movement of Quartet No. 2, the clarity of execution fully illuminates the contrapuntal textures; and, as if that wasn’t enough, this recording presents a sumptuous stereo image, enhancing musical enjoyment. Already highlighted in the brilliance that the key of D major provides to the strings, the exultant finale of Quartet No. 3 finds the perfect union between momentum and detail in this recording, thus concluding an album that from start to finish reveals that technique and expression are a singular experience called music.

Tracklist:
01. String Quartet No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 12, MWV R 25: I. Adagio non Troppo – Allegro non Tardante
02. String Quartet No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 12, MWV R 25: II. Canzonetta. Allegretto
03. String Quartet No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 12, MWV R 25: III. Andante Espressivo
04. String Quartet No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 12, MWV R 25: IV. Molto Allegro e Vivace
05. String Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 13, MWV R 22: I. Adagio – Allegro Vivace
06. String Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 13, MWV R 22: II. Adagio non Lento
07. String Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 13, MWV R 22: III. Intermezzo. Allegretto con Moto – Allegro di Molto
08. String Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 13, MWV R 22: IV. Presto – Adagio non Lento
09. String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44 No. 1, MWV R 30: I. Molto Allegro Vivace
10. String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44 No. 1, MWV R 30: II. Menuetto. Un Poco Allegretto
11. String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44 No. 1, MWV R 30: III. Andante Espressivo ma con Moto
12. String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44 No. 1, MWV R 30: IV. Presto con Brio


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