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The Chiaroscuro Quartet is now offering us the fourth instalment of their ongoing complete recording of Beethoven's string quartets. This latest spotlights the first two of the three Opus 59 quartets, known as the 'Razumovsky,' named for their patron, the Russian ambassador in Vienna, Count Andreas Razumovsky, who maintained a house quartet in his palace.Beethoven was particularly proud of these new quartets, despite the initial bewilderment they provoked among audiences, critics, and even performers. Famously, when a violinist complained of their difficulty, Beethoven retorted InchOh, they are not for you, but for a later age.Inch The first, in F major, was almost certainly the longest string quartet composed up to that point, and it's unprecedented weight and density of argument earn it the moniker the Eroica among Beethoven's quartets. The second, in E minor, is often described as a Inchclose cousinInch of the Appassionata Sonata, in that both works-composed at around the same time-are permeated by a profound darkness from start to finish.The Chiaroscuro Quartet's previous instalments in this cycle have already garnered superlative praise from the musical press, hailed as Inchbreathtaking,Inch Inchbristling with excitement and youthful vitality,Inch and Incha very special experience.Inch There is no doubt this latest is poised to achieve similar critical acclaim
