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In the 1990s, Felix Mendelssohn was considered a relic of the Victorian era, not dropping out of the repertory exactly, but rarely performed with any urgency. However, he has come roaring back, and this is especially true of his chamber music. This is partly because performers have realized that, as much as with Beethoven, Mendelssohn's string quartets were the vehicle for some of his deepest musical thinking. He was one of the few individuals of his time who understood Beethoven's late quartets, and his own have the same kind of compact urgency. In the readings of the Quatuor Van Kuijk, the delicate Mendelssohn of the late 19th century is gone. Here, the group completes its cycle of just two albums, made possible by putting three quartets on each album; the group's tempos are slightly on the quick side, but credit goes to the Alpha label, who render the sound without lowering the dynamic levels. Sample the finale of the String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80, one of the last things Mendelssohn wrote and one of the grimmest. The Quatuor Van Kuijk finds intense Beethovenian rising energy in the movement's opening material. The quartet closely follows Mendelssohn's expressive markings, resulting in performances that are highly expressive without losing any forward momentum. The sound from the Metz Arsenal auditorium lacks intimacy and attempts to compensate for that with overly close miking, but other than that, the Quatuor Van Kuijk here offers a recording that is at the top of the Mendelssohn heap; it landed on classical best-seller charts in early 2023.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80 (Felix Mendelssohn)
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Quatuor Van Kuijk, MainArtist
2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Quatuor Van Kuijk, MainArtist
2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Quatuor Van Kuijk, MainArtist
2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Quatuor Van Kuijk, MainArtist
2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
String Quartet No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 44 No. 2 (Felix Mendelssohn)
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Quatuor Van Kuijk, MainArtist
2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Quatuor Van Kuijk, MainArtist
2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Quatuor Van Kuijk, MainArtist
2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Quatuor Van Kuijk, MainArtist
2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
String Quartet No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 44 No. 3 (Felix Mendelssohn)
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Quatuor Van Kuijk, MainArtist
2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Quatuor Van Kuijk, MainArtist
2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Quatuor Van Kuijk, MainArtist
2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Quatuor Van Kuijk, MainArtist
2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Album review
In the 1990s, Felix Mendelssohn was considered a relic of the Victorian era, not dropping out of the repertory exactly, but rarely performed with any urgency. However, he has come roaring back, and this is especially true of his chamber music. This is partly because performers have realized that, as much as with Beethoven, Mendelssohn's string quartets were the vehicle for some of his deepest musical thinking. He was one of the few individuals of his time who understood Beethoven's late quartets, and his own have the same kind of compact urgency. In the readings of the Quatuor Van Kuijk, the delicate Mendelssohn of the late 19th century is gone. Here, the group completes its cycle of just two albums, made possible by putting three quartets on each album; the group's tempos are slightly on the quick side, but credit goes to the Alpha label, who render the sound without lowering the dynamic levels. Sample the finale of the String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80, one of the last things Mendelssohn wrote and one of the grimmest. The Quatuor Van Kuijk finds intense Beethovenian rising energy in the movement's opening material. The quartet closely follows Mendelssohn's expressive markings, resulting in performances that are highly expressive without losing any forward momentum. The sound from the Metz Arsenal auditorium lacks intimacy and attempts to compensate for that with overly close miking, but other than that, the Quatuor Van Kuijk here offers a recording that is at the top of the Mendelssohn heap; it landed on classical best-seller charts in early 2023.
© James Manheim /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 01:22:52
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: Quatuor Van Kuijk
- Composer: Felix Mendelssohn
- Label: Alpha Classics
- Genre: Classical
2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
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