David Matthews: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 5 Kreutzer Quartet

• David Matthews (b. 1943): String Quartet No. 14, Op. 145:
• 1 Matthews: String Quartet No. 14, Op. 145: I. Night. Adagio 03:41
• 2 Matthews: String Quartet No. 14, Op. 145: II. Sunrise. Lento e sostenuto 05:10
• 3 Matthews: String Quartet No. 14, Op. 145: III. Day. Molto vivace con gioia 03:48
• String Quartet No. 15, Op. 159:
• 4 Matthews: String Quartet No. 15, Op. 159: I. Allegro 01:53
• 5 Matthews: String Quartet No. 15, Op. 159: II. Molto adagio 06:06
• 6 Matthews: String Quartet No. 15, Op. 159: III. Giocoso 03:03
• 7 Matthews: String Quartet No. 15, Op. 159: IV. Moderato 03:48
• String Quartet No. 13, Op. 136:
• 8 Matthews: String Quartet No. 13, Op. 136: I. Green. In tranquilla attesa 04:25
• 9 Matthews: String Quartet No. 13, Op. 136: II. Woollahra Magpies. Poco lento - Vivace 03:57
• 10 Matthews: String Quartet No. 13, Op. 136: III. Sun in Me. Con luminosità costante 04:33
• 11 Matthews: String Quartet No. 13, Op. 136: IV. The Song Thrush. Moderato 01:55
• 12 Matthews: String Quartet No. 13, Op. 136: V. Lux Aeterna. Con il movimento pacifico 03:26
• Sir Edward Elgar (1857 - 1934): Sospiri, Op. 70 (Arr. D. Matthews for String Quartet):
• 13 Elgar: Sospiri, Op. 70 (Arr. D. Matthews for String Quartet) 03:56
• Minuet in D Major, K. 355 (Arr. D. Matthews for String Quartet):
• 14 Elgar: Minuet in D Major, K. 355 (Arr. D. Matthews for String Quartet) 02:34
• Gigue in G Major, K. 574 (Arr. D. Matthews for String Quartet):
• 15 Elgar: Gigue in G Major, K. 574 (Arr. D. Matthews for String Quartet) 02:19
• Bagatelle in C Major, WoO 56 (Arr. D. Matthews for String Quartet):
• 16 Elgar: Bagatelle in C Major, WoO 56 (Arr. D. Matthews for String Quartet) 02:16
• Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht, H. 145 (Arr. D. Matthews for String Quartet):
• 17 Elgar: Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht, H. 145 (Arr. D. Matthews for String Quartet) 01:50
• Dichterliebe, Op. 48:
• 18 Elgar: Dichterliebe, Op. 48: No. 1, Im wunderschönen Monat Mai (Arr. D. Matthews for String Quartet) 01:37
• David Matthews: Canon for Michael Tippett:
• 19 Matthews: Canon for Michael Tippett 00:55
• Canon for Michael Berkeley:
• 20 Matthews: Canon for Michael Berkeley 00:57
• Total Runtime 01:02:09

Info for David Matthews: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 5

The American critic Robert Reilly described the music on Volume One of this cycle of the complete string quartets of David Matthews (b. 1943) as ‘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’. Matthews’ three most recent quartets call in a wide range of references. Birdsong – heard in Nos. 13 and 14 – is a standard Matthews topos; and the fugal No. 15 seems to find a middle ground between late Beethoven and folk-music. No. 13 presents the biggest surprise: it introduces four solo voices, siting the work somewhere between Berg’s Lyric Suite and Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music. Some touching arrangements and two canons for two Michaels – Tippett and Berkeley – complete the programme.

Kreutzer Quartet:
Peter Sheppard Skærved, violin
Mihailo Trandafilovski, violin
Morgan Goff, viola
Neil Heyde, cello

The Kreutzer Quartet
has forged an enviable reputation as one of the Europe's most dynamic and innovative string quartets. They are the dedicatees of numerous works, and over many years have forged creative partnerships with composers including Sir Michael Tippett, David Matthews, Michael Finnissy, Judith Weir, and Haflidi Hallgrimsson. They have a particularly strong relationship to a cross-section of leading American composers, having collaborated intensively with George Rochberg in the last few years of his life, as long as working closely with figures as Elliott Schwartz, and the prolific symphonist Gloria Coates. As recording artists they have won critical acclaim for their discs on the Naxos, Metier, and Chandos labels. They are Artists in Association at Quartet at York University, and at Wiltons Music Hall. Their work in collaboration with art galleries has garnered much attention, and large audiences, particularly their annual residency at the Tate Gallery, St Ives.

Booklet for David Matthews: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 5