Engegårdkvartetten - Beethoven, Nordheim & Bartok: String Quartets (2010) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

The monumental creativity which Beethoven, Haydn and Bartók gave to the genre of the string quartet is our greatest inspiration. In the Harp we find Beethoven at his most entertaining and least problematic, although slightly provocative in the almost forced gentleness of the final movement. We chose to record the String Quartet 1956 including its incredibly atmospheric final Largo in honour of one of Norway's greatest composer, Arne Nordheim. The intensity and individuality of Bartók's 3rd Quartet make it a natural conclusion for us, juxtaposing the most intimate and lonely music with hard-hitting rhythmic sections which only Bartók could bring off.

'Playful and elegant, with nuances of a nature rarely heard before. With their new release the Engegård quartet meets all my expectations created from their debut album.'

The way in which 2L does its art is twofold: first by choosing a right venue - very often large open spaces (halls, churches etc.) - for the repertoire, and then by balancing the image in the the placement of microphones and musicians relative to each other in that venue. Below is shown how the members of the Engegårdkvartetten were placed during recording the three string quartets: Beethoven Op. 74 ('Harp'), Nordheim 1956, and Bela Bartok No. 3 Sz.85.

The setup used for the Nordheim quartet is very clever. It appears to support the music in a right way, eg. by highlighting the lines written for the cello. Nordheim's kind of atonal music in this composition is interesting too, not too complex, not too over-burdened with material. Very listenable, and in this way recorded even better. It's always intrguing and useful to hear new versions of Bartok's later string quartets, and even those of Beethoven, although the latter have been subject to so many fine interpretations that I personally always feel a bit embarrased to review new ones. Anyway, I liked the music making of the Engegårdkvartetten, and I've listened to this recording many, many times, and by concentrating on how the music in it sounds.

TRACKLIST

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)

1 String Quartet No.10, Op.74: I. Poco Adagio, Allegro 09:27
2 String Quartet No.10, Op.74: Ii. Adagio Ma Non Troppo 09:14
3 String Quartet No.10, Op.74: Iii. Presto 06:33
4 String Quartet No.10, Op.74: Iv. Allegretto Con Variazioni 06:33

Arne Nordheim (1931–2010)

5 String Quartet 1956: I. Lento Quasi Una Improvisazione 10:28
6 String Quartet 1956: Ii. Intermezzo 04:27
7 String Quartet 1956: Iii. Epitaffio 05:37

Béla Bartók (1881–1945)

8 String Quartet No.3, Sz.85: I. Prima Parte 04:52
9 String Quartet No.3, Sz.85: Ii. Seconda Parte 05:46
10 String Quartet No.3, Sz.85: Iii. Recapitulazione Della Prima Parte 03:20
11 String Quartet No.3, Sz.85: Iv. Coda 01:54

PERSONNEL
Arvid Engegård, Violin
Atle Sponberg, Violin
Juliet Jopling, Viola
Adrian Brendel, Cello