Danish String Quartet – Prism II (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

The Danish String Quartet’s Grammy-nominated Prism project links Bach fugues, late Beethoven quartets and works by modern masters continues with volume two of the series. Bach’s Fugue in B flat minor from the Well-Tempered Clavier (in the arrangement by Viennese composer Emanuel Aloys Förster) is brought together with Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 130 and Alfred Schnittke’s String Quartet No.3 (composed in 1983).

As the quartet explains, “A beam of music is split through Beethoven’s prism. The important thing to us is that these connections be experienced widely. We hope the listener will join us in the wonder of thee beams of music that travel all the way from Bach through Beethoven to our own times.”

Recorded in historic Reitstadel Neumarkt and produced by Manfred Eicher, the album is issued as the Danish String Quartet embarks on a tour with dates on both sides of the Atlantic, climaxing with a run of Prism concerts on the West Coast of the U.S. The Quartet plays the full Prism cycle at La Jolla Music Society over five concerts in late November.

This release by the Danish String Quartet is part of a five-album series titled “Prism,” each of which will apparently include three works: an arrangement of a Bach fugue for string quartet, one of Beethoven’s five late quartets, and a 20th century work that somehow lies in the shadow of both, or, to use the quartet’s own words, “a beam of music is split through Beethoven’s prism.” In this case, the program is unusually coherent, with the String Quartet No. 3 of Alfred Schnittke engaging itself directly with the Beethoven String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130, and Grosse Fuge, Op. 133, here played as the finale of the String Quartet No. 13 as Beethoven originally conceived the work. Logically, the Beethoven should go in the middle, but after you hear the Danish String Quartet’s blistering performance of the String Quartet No. 13, you’ll agree that it would be an impossible act to follow. The group gets just how radical this quartet was, especially with the Grosse Fuge in place, as sharp contrasts grow throughout the work and explode in the unthinkably intense fugue. The quartet takes the first movements of the six-movement work very rapidly, with the lighter melodic passages seeming like passing thoughts, takes a deep pause with the Cavatina slow movement, and then plunges into the fugue at top power. They are aided by magnificent engineering work from ECM, working on the Reitstadel Neumarkt, a riding stadium with famed acoustics. The Schnittke quartet is a fascinating work in itself, quoting the Beethoven extensively and exploring its sharp contrasts (sample the Agitato middle movement). One awaits the rest of the Danish String Quartet’s series breathlessly, but it’s possible that this volume, with a Beethoven performance for the ages, will tower over the rest. A bonus is a set of notes by the great Paul Griffiths, writing mostly for ECM these days.

Tracklist:
1. Danish String Quartet – The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: Fugue in B Minor, BWV 869 (Arr. Förster for Strings) (06:48)
2. Danish String Quartet – String Quartet No. 3: 1. Andante (06:11)
3. Danish String Quartet – String Quartet No. 3: 2. Agitato (07:49)
4. Danish String Quartet – String Quartet No. 3: 3. Pesante (08:36)
5. Danish String Quartet – String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: 1. Adagio ma non troppo – Allegro (09:52)
6. Danish String Quartet – String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: 2. Presto (02:00)
7. Danish String Quartet – String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: 3. Poco scherzando. Andante con moto ma non troppo (07:05)
8. Danish String Quartet – String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: 4. Alla danza tedesca. Allegro assai (03:22)
9. Danish String Quartet – String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: 5. Cavatina. Adagio molto espressivo (07:49)
10. Danish String Quartet – String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: 6. Große Fuge, Op. 133 (Ouverture. Allegro – Fuga) (16:44)

Personnel:
Danish String Quartet:
Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen (violin)
Frederik Øland (violin)
Asbjørn Nørgaard (viola)
Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin (violoncello)

Download:

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