Hagen Quartett MOZART String Quartets K. 387 & 458

Vienna, 1782. Mozart had not composed a string quartet for almost ten years, a remarkably long period within such a short lifespan. The two string quartets K.387 and K.458 belong to the group of six so-called “Haydn Quartets”. Mozart dedicated the work to his fatherly friend Joseph Haydn, who was in many cases also his great model.To dedicate such works to Haydn in his prime genre, testifies on the one hand to Mozart’s appreciation of his older colleague, and on the other to a high degree of self-confidence. Neither did he refrain from mentioning that these compositions were the “fruit of long and laborious task”.
After an extended tour performing Mozart quartets, the Hagen Quartet went into the recording studio for this new rendition of the two works for myrios classics. This is also the Hagen’s first recording using the ‘Paganini Quartet’ – the only complete set of Stradivarius instruments known to exist today. All four were once owned by Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840).

“I think it’s wonderful quartet playing; very warm and romantic in approach to Mozart … it’s very stylish … it’s very natural and relaxed, there’s a lot of warmth and affection in it I think, they really care about this music.” CD Review, 16th January 2016

“these players bring an astonishing variety of vibrato, nuance and colour. These are, indeed, distinctly Romanic readings that could have more doctrinaire authenticists tut-tutting.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2016

“compelling Hagen accounts…of…elevated quality. This release is well worth adding to any chamber music collection.” MusicWeb International, March 2016

Jerusalem Quartet / Veronika Hagen / Gary Hoffman ANTONÍN DVORÁK String Quintet op. 97 - String Sextet op. 48

...With their founding in the 1993/1994 season and subsequent 1996 debut, the Israeli musicians embarked on a journey of growth and development that has resulted in a wide repertoire and a stunning depth of expression: a journey still motivated by the energy and curiosity with which the ensemble began. The Jerusalem Quartet carries on the string quartet tradition in a unique manner. The ensemble has found its inner center in a warm, full, human sound and the balance between high and low voices, giving it the freedom both to refine its interpretations of the classical repertoire and to explore the works of new genres and epochs—all the while striving for perfection of sound. Collaborations with exceptional musicians such as Martin Fröst, Steven Isserlis, Sharon Kam, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Alexander Melnikov and András Schiff demonstrate clearly the ways in which the musicians benefit from their work, as each guest becomes an integral part of the indivisible ensemble.

The Jerusalem Quartet explores two aspects of Dvořák’s chamber music: one of the first big successes in the genre of a Bohemian composer who now enjoyed a well-established reputation in Europe (op.48), and one of the masterpieces from the years of American exile which brought him worldwide fame (op.97). A chance to discover two places, two periods, but always the same depth of expression in this indefatigable composer endowed with remarkable creative faculties.

Gidon Kremer EDITION LOCKENHAUS

Five-CD limited-edition box set, issued in time for the 30th anniversary of the Austrian chamber-music festival. “Edition Lockenhaus” returns long out-of-print titles to the catalogue, with some of the finest musicians of the New Series, including Gidon Kremer, Kim Kashkashian, Heinz Holliger, Thomas Zehetmair, Thomas Demenga, Robert Levin, Eduard Brunner and many more. Gidon Kremer: “The artistic atmosphere in Lockenhaus soon has everybody speaking on the same wavelength.” The set opens with previously unreleased recordings – from 2001 and 2008 – with Sir Simon Rattle and Roman Kofman conducting Kremerata Baltica in revelatory performances of Richard Strauss’s “Metamorphosen” and Olivier Messiaen’s “Trois petites Liturgies de la Présence Divine”: the committed interpretations convey the spirit of Lockenhaus. Discs two through five focus on music of César Franck, André Caplet, Francis Poulenc, Leos Janácek, Igor Stravinsky, Dmitri Shostakovich and Erwin Schulhoff. Original liner notes, an interview with Kremer, and new texts complete a very special edition. (ECM Records)