Emerson String Quartet, Barbara Hannigan, Bertrand Chamayou – Infinite Voyage (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:12:53 minutes | 1,29 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Alpha Classics
The title of this album evokes not only the life-long journey of all these musicians, but also a lasting friendship between soprano Barbara Hannigan and the Emerson String Quartet. One of the greatest string quartets of the last four decades, the Emersons will disband in October 2023. Barbara and the Emersons were determined to record Schoenberg’s Quartet No. 2 since they started performing the work together in 2015. “The sheer sonic scope of this work takes us on a voyage into previously uncharted territory” say the Emerson musicians. “It’s like a tall, gnarly tree to climb (all the way to another planet, it seems), yet one with deep and emotional roots”, continues Barbara Hannigan. “The soprano’s fin-de- siècle primal scream at the end of the 3rd movement, begging to be relieved of love, is a heavy hitter”. Melancholie is a rare and intimate work by the young Hindemith, “a gem of a piece” that the Canadian soprano has wanted to explore for many years. The fascinating Quartet Op. 3, composed by Berg in 1909 as he was finishing his apprenticeship with Schoenberg, features the quartet on its own. And to round out the album, pianist Bertrand Chamayou joins Barbara and the Emersons for another deeply moving encounter by way of Chausson’s heartbreaking Chanson perpétuelle.
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Evgeny Kissin & Emerson String Quartet – The New York Concert (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:38:55 minutes | 1,68 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Deutsche Grammophon (DG)
The mysterious virtuoso and world-renowned soloist and recitalist Evgeny Kissin doesn’t often venture into the realm of chamber music. The Emerson Quartet were therefore presented with a unique opportunity when they were offered to do an eight-concert tour of Germany and the United States with the famous pianist. For this album, Deutsche Grammophon decided to record their last performance together at Carnegie Hall in New York on April 27, 2018 and after much deliberation the decision was finally made to perform two major pieces in a minor key. The first is Mozart’s famous Quartet in G minor, and for the second we delve into the world of romanticism with just a hint of nostalgia with the young Gabriel Fauré’s Quartet in C minor. The concert ends with Dvořák’s light-hearted and joyful Quintet in A major, with its undertones of Czech folklore. No musician tried to steal the show as the collective priority seemed to be performing these masterpieces classically. The musicians work together humbly and cooperatively in an intimate atmosphere that feels more like they’re in a living room than a legendary concert hall. – François Hudry
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Emerson String Quartet – R. Schumann: String Quartets Nos. 1-3, Op. 41 (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:16:44 minutes | 1,48 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © PentaTone
The Emerson String Quartet makes its PENTATONE debut with a recording of Schumann’s three string quartets. Penned in the summer of 1842 during an exceptional peak of creativity, these quartets formed the beginning of a six-month surge during which most of Schumann’s best chamber music saw the light. Inspired by the example of Beethoven, Schumann’s quartets display a mastery of traditional forms, combined with typically Schumannian fantasy and lyricism, particularly in the inner movements. As such, they underline a new level of maturity in Schumann’s artistic development, surpassing the fantastical aesthetic of previous years. The players of the Emerson String Quartet bring out the extraordinary freshness and originality of these works, and add another master composer’s oeuvre to their impressive discography, after having recorded the complete string quartets of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bartók, Webern and Shostakovich. The artistic strength of Schumann, whose life was dominated by alternating periods of depression and manic creativity, inspires and consoles the quartet members during the uncertain times of a pandemic, and his music may equally inspire listeners. Since its founding in 1976, the Emerson String Quartet is ranked among the world’s most acclaimed chamber music ensembles.
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Emerson String Quartet – Chaconnes and Fantasias: Music of Britten and Purcell (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:13:40 minutes | 671 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © UMC – Decca Gold
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Emerson String Quartet releases Chaconnes and Fantasias – Music of Britten and Purcell.
Exclusively featuring repertoire never before recorded by the quartet, the album comprises Britten’s String Quartets Nos. 2 and 3 as well as a selection of chaconnes and fantasias from Purcell, including Chacony in G Minor, Z 730 and Fantazia No. 11 in G Major, Z 742.
This is the ensemble’s first feature recording including cellist Paul Watkins, who joined in 2013.
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