ANTON BRUCKNER (1824–1896)

 

String Quintet in F major* (1878–79)

I. Gemäßigt

II. Scherzo: Schnell

III. Andante (Adagio)

IV. Finale: Lebhaft bewegt

Intermezzo in D minor* (1879): Moderato

String Quartet in C minor (1862)

I. Allegro moderato

II. Andante

III. Scherzo: Presto

IV. Rondo: Schnell

Rondo in C minor (1862)

 

Fine Arts Quartet

Ralph Evans and Efrim Boico (violins)

Yuri Gandelsman (viola), Wolfgang Laufer (cello)

*Gil Sharon (2nd viola)

 

Anton Bruckner’s String Quintet in F major was composed at the suggestion of the famous Viennese violinist Joseph Hellmesberger.

 

Contemporaneous with his Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, it is a deftly written Romantic work, symphonic in scale but intimate in character, whose Adagio expresses an almost unbearable bliss. 

 

Composed in 1862, though rediscovered only decades after his death, the String Quartet in C minor brings into play Bruckner’s love of Bach and admiration for Schubert while pointing towards his own later symphonic style.

 

“The outstanding aspect of these performances is the quality of sound, rich and beautifully blended. With a heartfelt, expressive quality, [The Fine Arts Quartet] are able to bring out fully the lyrical side of Schumann’s invention... it’s lovely quartet playing, and I’ll want to return to it.” Gramophone on 8570151

 

Naxos 8570788