Beethoven - String Quartets Op. 59 No. 3 and Op. 95 DVD

Founded in 1964 the Guarneri String Quartet is considered preeminent in its interpretations of the Beethoven string quartets and has presented the complete cycle to audiences around the world.Part of the magic of a string quartet is that it is simultaneously vast yet intimate. As broad in its form as a symphony a quartet relies on a small group of players to articulate thoughts and feelings as personal as a conversation between friends or lovers. No other musical form not the symphony or the sonata spans Beethoven's life so fully as his sixteen string quartets.The... Quartet in F minor played first on this program is a visionary work which looks toward the 20th century. An economy of gesture and intense psychological probing create a powerful new world of high tension and fury. The Quartet in C Major last of the Rasumovsky trio of quartets Beethoven merged the expansive canvas of the symphony with the more intimate world of chamber music to convey a very powerful yet deeply personal vision of the human condition.This program was videotaped at the magnificent Old Westbury House and surrounding gardens on Long Island thirty miles east of Manhattan. The mansion built in the style of a late 17th-century English manor house provides an environment similar to the settings for which Beethoven's quartets were written and first performed.Contains the following works:Quartet No. 9 in C Major Op. 59 No. 3 RasumovskyQuartet No. 11 in F minor Op. 95 Quartetto serioso [show more]

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