The performance here of the familiar String Quartet No. 1 in E minor ("From My Life") of Smetana has everything one could ask for: adept playing and ensemble work, broad expression, sensitivity to the piece's deep autobiographical symbolism. It has everything you'd expect to hear if you went to a concert hall in Prague on a weekend afternoon for one of the city's leading chamber ensembles. It doesn't really break new ground, but that's left to the remainder of the album. The noteworthy entry here is the much-less-often ...
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The performance here of the familiar String Quartet No. 1 in E minor ("From My Life") of Smetana has everything one could ask for: adept playing and ensemble work, broad expression, sensitivity to the piece's deep autobiographical symbolism. It has everything you'd expect to hear if you went to a concert hall in Prague on a weekend afternoon for one of the city's leading chamber ensembles. It doesn't really break new ground, but that's left to the remainder of the album. The noteworthy entry here is the much-less-often-performed String Quartet No. 2 in D minor, written in 1882 and 1883 as Smetana suffered from deafness and what was probably the syphilis that killed him the following year. The work mystified Smetana's contemporaries, was not published until after his death, and was not properly edited until the middle of the 20th century. (Among its champions was Arnold Schoenberg.) It's concise and rather abrupt: compared with Beethoven's string quartet output, it might be the String Quartet No. 11 in...
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Seller's Description:
Fair. Ex-Library rental. Disc(s) are professionally cleaned and may contain only light scratches that do not effect functionality. Includes disc(s), case, and artwork. May be missing booklet. Disc(s), case, and artwork may contain library/security stickers and ink writing. ARTWORK IS UNORIGINAL AND PRINTED BY LIBRARY. Case and artwork may show some wear. Case may not be an original jewel case. All disc(s) are authentic.