Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. String quartet no.1 in D minor, op.7: Nicht zu rasch - Arnold Schoenberg
2. String quartet no.1 in D minor, op.7: Kraftig - Arnold Schoenberg
3. String quartet no.1 in D minor, op.7: Massig - Arnold Schoenberg
4. String quartet no.1 in D minor, op.7: Massig - heiter - Arnold Schoenberg
5. String quartet no.2 in F sharp minor, op.10: Massig (Moderato) - Arnold Schoenberg
6. String quartet no.2 in F sharp minor, op.10: Sehr rasch - Arnold Schoenberg
7. String quartet no.2 in F sharp minor, op.10: Litanei. Langsam - Arnold Schoenberg
8. String quartet no.2 in F sharp minor, op.10: Entruckung. Sehr langsam - Arnold Schoenberg

Disc 2:

1. String quartet no.3, op.30: Moderato - Arnold Schoenberg
2. String quartet no.3, op.30: Adagio - Arnold Schoenberg
3. String quartet no.3, op.30: Intermezzo: Allegro moderato - Arnold Schoenberg
4. String quartet no.3, op.30: Rondo: Molto moderato - Arnold Schoenberg
5. String Quartet No.4, Op.37: Allegro molto; Energico - Arnold Schoenberg
6. String Quartet No.4, Op.37: Comodo - Arnold Schoenberg
7. String Quartet No.4, Op.37: Largo - Arnold Schoenberg
8. String Quartet No.4, Op.37: Allegro - Arnold Schoenberg

Disc 3:

1. String Quartet In D Major: Allegro molto - Anton Webern
2. String Quartet In D Major: Intermezzo. Andantino grazioso - Anton Webern
3. String Quartet In D Major: Andante con moto - Anton Webern
4. String Quartet In D Major: Allegro - Anton Webern
5. Satze, op.5: Heftig bewegt - Anton Webern
6. Satze, op.5: Sehr langsam - Anton Webern
7. Satze, op.5: Sehr bewegt - Anton Webern
8. Satze, op.5: Sehr langsam - Anton Webern
9. Satze, op.5: In zarter Bewegung - Anton Webern
10. String quartet - Anton Webern
11. 6 Bagatellen, op.9: Massig - Anton Webern
12. 6 Bagatellen, op.9: Leicht bewegt - Anton Webern
13. 6 Bagatellen, op.9: Ziemlich fliessend - Anton Webern
14. 6 Bagatellen, op.9: : Sehr langsam - Anton Webern
15. 6 Bagatellen, op.9: Ausserst langsam - Anton Webern
16. 6 Bagatellen, op.9: Fliessend - Anton Webern
17. String quartet, op.28: Massig - Anton Webern
18. String quartet, op.28: Gemachlich - Anton Webern
19. String quartet, op.28: Sehr fliessend - Anton Webern

Disc 4:

1. Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Allegretto gioviale - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
2. Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Andante amoroso - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
3. Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Allegro misterioso - Trio estatico - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
4. Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Adagio appassionato - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
5. Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Presto delirando - Tenebroso - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
6. Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Largo desolato - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
7. String Quartet, Op.3: Langsam - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
8. String Quartet, Op.3: Massige Viertel - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #245949 in Music
• Released on: 2005-03-21
• Number of discs: 4
• Format: Import

Customer Reviews

Schoenberg, Berg, Webern Quartets
Expensive this, but special, not least because of the wonderful singing of Margaret Price in Schoenberg Quartet 2. Not quite as 'complete' as the box claims, but an echo of the past when boxed sets often came with very detailed notes, as here.

An essential collection
This collection of music for string quartet by the Second Viennese School can now be said to have classical status. The LaSalle Quartet succeed fully in communicating the emotional, spiritual and intellectual depths the three composers of this school -Schönberg, Berg and Webern - commanded. Above all, these composers were through and through Viennese and these recordings show just how much their music grew out a continuum with the tradition handed down to them from Schubert, Beethoven, and Brahms.

First of all take the Second String Quartet by Schönberg with its fusion of the Quartet with the Lied. I have heard several versions of this, but none more beautiful than that sung by Margaret Price here. The otherworldly introspection and subtly visionary qualities of the music come across abundently. Yet at every moment the sense of the inheritance of the Viennese tradition remains omnipresent in the writing. Adorno thought this was the greatest thing Schönberg ever wrote and more than any other interpretion this one shows why Adorno might have thought that. It is a work of transcendent beauty that will appeal to lot of listeners, especially those who normally find Second Viennese School 'too difficult'. To have this along with the entire set of four quartets plus works by Berg and Webern is truly an embarrassment of riches!

The Webern pieces here are characterised by the Angst ridden darkness of their mood as well as their poignant brevity. These works were composed at a time when nearly every work was a response to the death of his mother - an event of enormous emotional impact for Webern. In this sense, the autobiographical elements recall the symphonies of Gustav Mahler, of whose music Webern was a powerful interpreter. Indeed, Berg even called him the greatest Mahler conductor since Mahler.

The thing that really makes this recording an essential set for every serious music lover's collection is the very substantial booklet that comes with this set. It is virtually a book rather than a booklet and is highly authoratative. I can only praise Deutsche Gramophon for maintaining their availability.

ABSOLUTELY THE BEST REALIZATIONS OF THE SECOND VIENNESE!!
I can't believe this set is out of print: QUICKLY buy it from a Marketplace vendor!!

It's really the best set of realizations of the Second Viennese School's essays in that most important of art-music genres, the string quartet. The LaSalle SQ's razor-sharp, crystal-clear interpretations of these exquisite oeuvre have not been surpassed.

Highly recommended!