Alexander Zemlinsky: String Quartet

Frantisek Soucek, violin; Petr Strizek, violin; Petr Holman, viola; Vladimir Fortin, cello

Alexander Zemlinsky
String quartet n°2, Op.15 (1914) / String quartet n°4, Op.25 (1936) / Two movements for string quartet (1929)

In one word, Webern summed up the evolution o each of Zemlinsky's four quartets: "Aufbruch" (departure) corresponding to n°1, Op.4 and getting out from under Brahms's shadow; "Wende" (the turning point) for n°2, Op.15, an Expressionistic block of gigantic Mahlerian proportions and a single motto theme; "Reduktion" of the epic dimension but not of the burlesque, sardonic grin in n°3, Op.19; and "Maskenspiel" (mask game) for n°4, Op.25, a "lyric suite" in homage to Alban Berg, imbued with Schubertian clarity and transcended Classicism.

Price: $27.98