Track Listing

1. String Quartet No. 12 in F major ('American'), B. 179 (Op. 96): 1. Allegro ma non troppo
2. String Quartet No. 12 in F major ('American'), B. 179 (Op. 96): 2. Lento
3. String Quartet No. 12 in F major ('American'), B. 179 (Op. 96): 3. Molto vivace
4. String Quartet No. 12 in F major ('American'), B. 179 (Op. 96): 4. Finale: Vivace, ma non troppo
5. String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11: 1. Moderato e semplice
6. String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11: 2. Andante cantabile
7. String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11: 3. Scherzo: Allegro non tanto - Trio
8. String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11: 4. Finale: Allegro giusto - Allegro vivace
9. String Quartet No. 2 in D major: 1. Allegro moderato
10. String Quartet No. 2 in D major: 2. Scherzo: Allegro
11. String Quartet No. 2 in D major: 3. Notturno: Andante
12. String Quartet No. 2 in D major: 4. Finale: Andante - Vivace

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46727 in Music
• Brand: Emerson
• Released on: 1995-10-17
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.com
The Emersons offer one of the very best accounts of the popular American Quartet on disc. It is dramatic, exuberant, persuasive, and right to the point--a well-paced reading full of ravishing details (like the dueting of the violins in the slow movement) that has been beautifully recorded. Originally made for Book-of-the-Month Club in 1984, the recording was later picked up by DG and first released in the U.S. in 1990. For this reissue, it has been coupled with equally well-played accounts of quartets by Borodin and Tchaikovsky, which makes for an especially well-filled CD. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews

Outstanding performances of popular quartets.
These three quartets are probably the most popular, and most appealing, quartets written by non-Germanic composers. The slow movements of the Tchaikovsky and Borodin quartets are exceptionally beautiful and so popular that they are often played as separate pieces in a variety of arrangements. The Emerson Quartet does full justice to them in their original settings. They also give a fine performance of Dvorak's "American" Quartet which is his most popular piece of chamber music. To have outstanding performances of all three of these justly-popular quartets available on one mid-priced CD makes this a rare treat, and a bargain as well.

Inimitable
Why someone would not just immediately buy this disc at it's lower reissue price would be a mystery to me. The playing is beautiful, even flawless. The music is wonderful. The recording is outstanding. The price is criminally low.

exquisite
The Dvorak "American" is rendered exquisitely. The Emerson String Quartet makes love to the piece. There is no other way to describe the mix of tenderness and passion with which it is delivered. The Tchaikovsky and the Borodin are also rendered beautifully, but the Dvorak is splendid. The Emerson really knows how to "do" Slavic romanticism. This is one of the best music purchases I've made.