The Jerusalem Quartet releases Beethoven’s string quartets, Op. 18
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L.v. Beethoven: String Quartets, Op. 18
No. 3 in D Major
No. 1 in F Major
No. 2 in G Major
No. 4 in C Minor
No. 5 in A Major
No. 6 in Bb Major
Harmonia Mundi
August 15, 2015
Catalog Num: HMC902207.08
Only now have I learned how to write quartets properly. Beethoven wrote in 1801, having just finished his first set of string quartets at the surprisingly advanced age of 30. The competition between Haydn and Mozart must have been intimidating for the young composer. Performed here by the Jerusalem Quartet, these six String Quartets Op. 18 already display much boldness and originality, from the dramatic echoes of Romeo & Juliet in No. 1 to the astonishing programmatic finale of No. 6, “La Malinconia.