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David Matthews: Complete String Quartets, Volume One
Catalogue Number: TOCC0058
String Quartet No. 4, Op. 27
Kreutzer Quartet, string quartet To date David Matthews (b. 1943) has written seven symphonies and eleven string quartets. ‘I have continued’, he explains, ‘along a path similar to that taken by Tippett and Britten: one rooted in the Viennese Classics – Beethoven above all – and also in Mahler, Sibelius and the early twentieth-century modernists. I have always been a tonal composer, attempting to integrate the musical language of the present with the past, and to explore the rich traditional forms.’ This first volume of his complete string quartets presents works written between 1981 and 2001. Liner Notes (PDF) |
Track Listing, MP3 Downloads and Streaming Samples
| Track No. | Track Title / Details | Duration | Sample | Add to Cart | |
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| DOWNLOAD COMPLETE ALBUM | 64:17 | ||||
| 1-4 | String Quartet No. 4, Op. 27 (1981) David Matthews, composer Kreutzer Quartet, string quartet Peter Sheppard Skærved, violin Mihailo Trandafilovski, violin Morgan Goff, viola Neil Heyde, cello (first recording) |
30:58 | |||
| 1 | I. Poco lento – Andante con moto | 4:09 |
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| 2 | II. Molto vivace | 5:54 |
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| 3 | III. Adagio sostenuto | 7:27 |
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| 4 | IV. Allegro | 13:28 |
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| 5 | Adagio for String Quartet, Op. 56a (1990) David Matthews, composer Kreutzer Quartet, string quartet Peter Sheppard Skærved, violin Mihailo Trandafilovski, violin Morgan Goff, viola Neil Heyde, cello (first recording) |
4:02 |
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| 6-8 | String Quartet No. 6, Op. 56 (1991) David Matthews, composer Kreutzer Quartet, string quartet Peter Sheppard Skærved, violin Mihailo Trandafilovski, violin Morgan Goff, viola Neil Heyde, cello (first recording) |
16:25 | |||
| 6 | I. Allegro moderato e flessibile | 4:11 |
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| 7 | II. Adagio | 7:50 |
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| 8 | II. Allegro energico | 4:24 |
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| 9-10 | String Quartet No. 10, Op. 84 (2000) David Matthews, composer Kreutzer Quartet, string quartet Peter Sheppard Skærved, violin Mihailo Trandafilovski, violin Morgan Goff, viola Neil Heyde, cello (first recording) |
12:52 | |||
| 9 | I. Lontano | 5:03 |
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| 10 | II. Vivace | 7:49 |
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Artists
David Matthews, composer
[credit: Richard Wakefield]
Kreutzer Quartet, string quartet
[credit: Leif Johansson]
Peter Sheppard Skærved, violin
[credit: Matt Grum]
Mihailo Trandafilovski, violin
[credit: Matt Grum]
Morgan Goff, viola
[credit: Matt Grum]
Neil Heyde, cello
[credit: Matt Grum]
Reviews
Brimming with life
When I first listened to the David Matthews Fourth String Quartet late at night after my return from England, I was stunned. How is it, I wondered, that music of this quality, written in 1982, is being heard by recording only now? This is an indictment of the musical establishment, as it is a complete vindication of what Toccata Classics does – and how well it does it. What we hear in Quartets Nos. 4, 6, and 10, along with the Adagio for String Quartet, is some of the most concentrated, penetrating writing for this medium in the past 30 years or more. It is musical thinking of the highest order and quartet writing in the great tradition of Beethoven, Bartok, Britten ,and Tippett, all of whom Matthews mentions as influences. Though he does not list Janacek, I am tempted to add his name because of the condensed punch of these works and Matthews’s ability to express so much in so few bars.
These works are full of exquisite moments. Some of the music is searing, much of it dances and sings, and some of it is achingly beautiful and tender. It is all brimming with life. I found the adagio sostenuto in Quartet No. 4 and the Lontano movement in the Tenth Quartet to be heart-stoppingly beautiful. The great good news is that this is Volume One in what will be a complete cycle of Matthews’s eleven quartets – though a twelfth quartet is on the way. The Kreutzer Quartet plays this music with staggering conviction and skill. This release exemplifies the mission of Toccata Classics and why such a label is absolutely necessary.
Robert Reilly CatholiCity
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