Tuesday 25 August 2009

303. Robert Schumann - String Quartets (1842)



















Recording

Title: String Quartets Op. 41
Performer: Ysaÿe Quartet
Year: 2003
Length: 1 hour 30 minutes

Review

So we have here three string quartets by a composer better known for his piano, vocal and orchestral music. However, these quartets are quite lovely, which isn't to say that they are that spectacular.

Unfortunately they don't really get my juices flowing. They are really enjoyable, and they really shine on some lovely slow movements, but there has been plenty of Schumann which I've preferred on this list.

That being said, with a few exceptions, I am not a particular fan of the Chamber music genre, I am much more of an Orchestral, Vocal and Operatic type. These stand kind of next to the Mendelssohn String Quartets in my mind, in which they were clearly inspired, nice but nothing to write home about.

Final Grade

7/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Schumann exerted considerable influence in the nineteenth century and beyond, despite his adoption of more conservative modes of composition after his marriage. He left an array of acclaimed music in virtually all the forms then known. Partly through his protégé Brahms, Schumann's ideals and musical vocabulary became widely disseminated. Composer Edward Elgar called Schumann "my ideal."

no. 3:


1 comment:

Antonio Jerez said...

Try Quartet no 1 & 3 with the Zehetmeier Quartet instead. They are outstanding.