Brahms - String Sextets | Alpha ALPHA792

Brahms - String Sextets

£14.49

In stock - available for despatch within 1 working day

Label: Alpha

Cat No: ALPHA792

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Chamber

Release Date: 4th March 2022

Contents

Artists

Tabea Zimmermann (viola)
Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello)
Belcea Quartet

Works

Brahms, Johannes

String Sextet no.1 in B flat major, op.18
String Sextet no.2 in G major, op.36

Artists

Tabea Zimmermann (viola)
Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello)
Belcea Quartet

About

Brahms was one of the first composers to write for pairs of violins, violas and cellos, blazing the trail for Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, Korngold and Schoenberg. His two sextets are early works, composed in 1860 and 1865 respectively. Brahms wrote to his publisher that the second was in ‘the same joyful vein’ as the first. Yet the composer’s life was sombre at this time: his mother died suddenly and his romantic relationship with the soprano Agathe von Siebold ended in failure; indeed, the first movement of the sextet opens with a viola motif on the notes A-G-A-D-B-E (AGADHE in German notation)... The members of the Belcea Quartet called in their friends Tabea Zimmermann and Jean-Guihen Queyras to record these peaks of the chamber repertory following a concert tour to some of Europe’s major venues.

The vast experience of the Belcea Quartet and their guests made the concert a rewarding event. In a most gratifying way, these four musicians, despite their diverse backgrounds (they are from three different countries) presented a unified sound and well-formed understanding of the String Sextet no.1 in B flat major, op.18. Their technique was as impeccable as the balance between the four instruments. In the Sextet no.1, Zimmermann took the first viola part and Queyras the second cello part, while in the String Sextet no.2 in G major, Zimmermann played second viola and Queyras first cello. This proved significant: when taking the second part in their respective instruments, the guest artists blended completely into the musical texture, playing often even more in the background than the other musicians with non-thematic material.

Error on this page? Let us know here

Need more information on this product? Click here