Mendelssohn composed his sixth and final string quartet during a very tumultuous time in his life, only months after the death of his beloved sister and only months before his own very early death. The music is somewhat uncharacteristic of the previous quartets; three of the five movements are extremely frenetic and all of the movements are quite solemn. The Alexander String Quartet's penchant for swift tempos fits this piece to a T. The fastest, busiest sections of the Finale are crystal clear and are executed with a good ...
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Mendelssohn composed his sixth and final string quartet during a very tumultuous time in his life, only months after the death of his beloved sister and only months before his own very early death. The music is somewhat uncharacteristic of the previous quartets; three of the five movements are extremely frenetic and all of the movements are quite solemn. The Alexander String Quartet's penchant for swift tempos fits this piece to a T. The fastest, busiest sections of the Finale are crystal clear and are executed with a good measure of angst and torment. The result is a highly effective and invigorating interpretation of this piece, highly worthy of note. The music and life of Robert Schumann are inextricably linked with Mendelssohn. Their states of mind when composing the two works featured on this album could not be more different, however. Schumann's Piano Quintet was written at a very happy time in his life, and despite the dirge-like second movement, his satisfaction with his life is evident in the...
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