Artist: Arditti Quartet, Irvine Arditti
Album: Gerhard: Complete String Quartets & Chaconne
Genre: Classical
Release Date: 2013
Audio Format:: FLAC (tracks) 24 bit, 44,1 kHz
Duration: 54:31
Total Tracks: 23
Total Size: 490 MB

Tracklist:

01. Arditti Quartet – String Quartet No. 2 (1961-1962): I. Lento (01:32)
02. Arditti Quartet – String Quartet No. 2 (1961-1962): II. — (01:33)
03. Arditti Quartet – String Quartet No. 2 (1961-1962): III. — (01:38)
04. Arditti Quartet – String Quartet No. 2 (1961-1962): IV. — (00:32)
05. Arditti Quartet – String Quartet No. 2 (1961-1962): V. — (03:43)
06. Arditti Quartet – String Quartet No. 2 (1961-1962): VI. — (02:24)
07. Arditti Quartet – String Quartet No. 2 (1961-1962): VII. — (02:10)
08. Arditti Quartet – String Quartet No. 1 (1950-1955): I. Allegro assai (07:17)
09. Arditti Quartet – String Quartet No. 1 (1950-1955): II. Con vivacitá (02:07)
10. Arditti Quartet – String Quartet No. 1 (1950-1955): III. Grave (04:46)
11. Arditti Quartet – String Quartet No. 1 (1950-1955): IV. Molto allegro (07:56)
12. Irvine Arditti – Chaconne for Solo Violin (1959): I. Risoluto (01:21)
13. Irvine Arditti – Chaconne for Solo Violin (1959): II. Calmo con leggerezza (01:05)
14. Irvine Arditti – Chaconne for Solo Violin (1959): III. Allegro con fuoco (00:41)
15. Irvine Arditti – Chaconne for Solo Violin (1959): IV. Allegretto (01:11)
16. Irvine Arditti – Chaconne for Solo Violin (1959): V. Veloce (01:01)
17. Irvine Arditti – Chaconne for Solo Violin (1959): VI. Con riposo (02:00)
18. Irvine Arditti – Chaconne for Solo Violin (1959): VII. Allegro con brio (01:49)
19. Irvine Arditti – Chaconne for Solo Violin (1959): VIII. Adagietto (02:41)
20. Irvine Arditti – Chaconne for Solo Violin (1959): IX. Molto vivace, con impeto (01:22)
21. Irvine Arditti – Chaconne for Solo Violin (1959): X. Andante sostenuto (02:20)
22. Irvine Arditti – Chaconne for Solo Violin (1959): XI. Grazioso (01:26)
23. Irvine Arditti – Chaconne for Solo Violin (1959): XII. Allegro assai (01:44)

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Born in Catalonia and Arnold Schönberg’s sole Spanish student, Roberto Gerhard is, after Manuel de Falla, the boldest and most brilliant representative of the music of his country. Forced into the exile by the Spanish civil war, he became a British citizen and spend his last years in Cambridge. Although they never met, the connection with the Arditti Quartet seems to have been preordained, as illustrated by this superb recording of what can be considered the composer’s masterworks.Catalan composer Roberto Gerhard was a student of Arnold Schoenberg and an important innovator of serial procedures in the 1950s, though there are aspects of his music that reflect older practices, including traditional Spanish folk music, Baroque and Classical forms, and some influences of his modern compatriots, Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados, and Manuel de Falla. The two numbered string quartets are mature works that incorporate these varied elements, yet cohere perfectly well on their own as wholly integrated personal expressions, without seeming derivative or overtly referential. The Arditti String Quartet performs these pieces with its customary facility and virtuosic brilliance, and violinist Irvine Arditti fills out the remainder of the program with a passionate performance of Gerhard’s Chaconne for solo violin, offering the listener an album just under 55 minutes, which may seem rather short in duration, except for the fact that the music is quite concentrated and intense. The reproduction is clear and vibrant in a highly resonant space, though the strings’ tone isn’t especially warm. –AllMusic Review by Blair Sanderson