Debussy, Tailleferre, Ravel - String Quartets | Alba ABCD431

Debussy, Tailleferre, Ravel - String Quartets

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Label: Alba

Cat No: ABCD431

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Chamber

Release Date: 3rd May 2019

Contents

About

On this new release one of Scandinavia’s foremost string quartets, the Swedish Stenhammar Quartet, perform pieces by Claude Debussy, Germaine Tailleferre and Maurice Ravel. The quartet’s previous recordings have been internationally praised by critics, and this new album will certainly be no exception. “The Stenhammar Quartet produces a clean and vibrant sound, they use a range of well-judged dynamics and the articulation is exceptionally good throughout.” – MusicWeb International.

Germaine Tailleferre (1892–1983) was a member of the French group of composers known as Les Six. She composed only one string quartet, in 1917–1919, when Les Six were just making a name for themselves. The Tailleferre String Quartet is a sonatina-like work in three movements and has the gracefulness and understated languor of Ravel’s Neoclassicism and Les Six. The first and second movements are vigilantly dreamy and at the end return to the beginning without more ado. The last movement tells a richly eloquent story with bizarre situations, dry humour and ambiguous sentiments.

Claude Debussy (1862–1918) and Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) both made one excursion into string quartet territory, producing a pair of works that both became highly popular items in the repertoire. As the model for his Quartet of 1902, Ravel took the one by Debussy completed some ten years earlier in 1893; hence the excitingly non-identical twins are mirrors of music described as impressionistic. The two quartets come closest to each other in their impishly saucy pizzicato scherzos, their down-to-earth tempo underlining their groovy sardonicism. They also both have slow movements with deep, deep pools and finales that, instead of being conventionally jubilant, draw together the work’s thematic threads and leave a lasting impression of sullen intransigence.

The Stenhammar Quartet has been active since 2002. The works of Wilhelm Stenhammar naturally play a central part in the ensemble’s programmes, but their repertoire ranges from Baroque to contemporary music. The quartet regularly commissions works from Nordic composers such as Sven-David Sandström and Bent Sørensen, and has also been the dedicatee and given first performances of works by composers from the USA and Great Britain. The SQ has recorded extensively for Swedish Radio and various record labels and the ensemble’s previous discs have received nominations for the Swedish “Grammis” Awards. In 2009 the ensemble was commended by the Royal Swedish Academy of Music for its contributions to Swedish music.

Stenhammar Quartet:
- Peter Olofsson (violin)
- Per Öman (violin)
- Tony Bauer (viola)
- Mats Olofsson (cello)

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