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String Quartet No. 1, Op. 16 | Piano Quintet Op. 15
Erich Wolfgang Korngold

String Quartet No. 1, Op. 16 | Piano Quintet Op. 15

Alma Quartet | Severin von Eckardstein

Label: Challenge Classics
Format: CD
Barcode: 0608917293227
barcode
Catalog number: CC 72932
Releasedate: 29-09-23
- Second and last volume of Korngold’s complete String Quartets survey by the Alma Quartets
- The disc contains the First Quartet (composed in 1923) and the Piano Quintet (1921)
- Music from Vienna raging Twenties in flawless performances by one of today leading string quartets
- Ideal match between Alma Quartet and a specialist pianist as Severin von Eckardstein
- Ritmo (SP) on first volume (CC 72869): The recording offered by Alma Quartet is the best available of these works for its understanding of the expressive world of Korngold, is perfect intonation and reading of these difficult works.
 
This second opus represents a return to Korngold’s roots, an attempt to rediscover the innocence and enormous artistic fertility that characterised the young composer. His first quartet and his piano quintet attest to an unbelievable talent and a visionary spirit rooted in the musical ferment of Vienna at the beginning of the twentieth century. Beyond the fatigue one inevitably feels upon finishing a recording, we are suddenly aware of the distance we have travelled. Korngold’s music has transported us these last few years, but it has transformed us, too. This recording is our catharsis, a balm for the difficult years of Covid. Today, we realize just how lucky we are to be able to give concerts, to create encounters with audiences and to touch people through our recordings.

‘Encounters’ could well be the title of this album. It is not only a musical encounter with Korngold, but a temporal one as well, taking us on a journey from Vienna to Hollywood, through the dark decades of history. It is also an encounter of artistry and friendship with Severin, who has guided us from his piano.