Anton Rubinstein - String Quartets, Vol. 1 (Reinhold Quartett)

Information

Composer: Anton Rubinstein

• String Quartet in E minor, Op. 47 No. 1
• String Quartet in D minor, Op. 47 No. 3

Reinhold Quartett

Dietrich Reinhold & Tobias Haupt, violins

Norbert Tunze, viola

Dorothée Erbiner, cello

Date: 2021

Label: cpo

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/anton-rubinstein-streichquartette-vol-1/hnum/9254291

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Review

Anton Rubinstein was considered one of the greatest pianists of his age. But what he really wanted was to be a high-regarded composer. This album features two of his Op. 47 string quartets, composed in 1855. Thanks to the legacy of Beethoven, the string quartet was considered the summit of chamber music, just as the symphony was for orchestral music.

Rubinstein took those challenges seriously, carefully crafting quartets of substance and artful development. When he completed the three Op. 47 quartets, he sent them off to Liszt to see if they were worthy of performance.

The answer must have been positive, because members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra premiered one of them in January 1856. Over 150 years later, the other two quartets also receive the same. The Reinhold Quartett performers are all members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra.

The quartet has a honeyed ensemble sound I found quite attractive. Rubinstein has created some wonderful melodies, and the players lean into their lyricism.

Rubinstein the concert pianist may have been a showman, but there’s nothing showy about these quartets. The music is serious, focussed, and perhaps a little introspective. My impression is these works were written as much for the performers as for any prospective audience.

Anyone interested in the quartets of Schumann, Mendelssohn, or Brahms should check these out. Rubinstein’s quartets provide fresh insights with every hearing. As you would expect of music from a great composer.

-- WTJU

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Anton Rubinstein (November 28 [O.S.November 16] 1829 – November 20 [O.S. November 8] 1894) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He was the elder brother of Nikolai Rubinstein who founded the Moscow Conservatory. As a pianist, Rubinstein ranks amongst the great 19th-century keyboard virtuosos. He was also a prolific composer throughout much of his life. Rubinstein wrote 20 operas and a large number of other works, including five piano concertos and six symphonies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Rubinstein

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The Reinhold Quartet, consisting of musicians from the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, was founded in 1996. The quartet primarily focuses on classical and romantic periods, such as works by Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven. Its repertoire also includes modern music as well as works by composers who are closely connected to the city of Leipzig. The ensemble performs in Germany and abroad, such as a Leoš Janáček cycle in Prague and a concert at the Edvard Grieg House in Bergen. Over the course of its 20 years of activity, the quartet has produced numerous CDs for Querstand, Genuin and cpo labels.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhold_Quartett
http://www.reinholdquartett.de/

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