Jakubenas / Vilnius String Quartet / Uinskas - Chamber & Instrumental Music - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The first volume of the premiere recordings of Jurgis Karnavicius' (1884-1941) string quartets resulted in a growing number of excellent album reviews. It included the composer's romantic and folk music-inspired first two quartets. This second volume includes the composer's last two quartets Nos. 3 & 4 which are more expressive and modern in nature. Karnavicius wrote his four impressive string quartets during his study and teaching years in St. Petersburg during the 1910s and 1920s, filling the chronological and stylistic gap between the String Quartets of Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. After it's premiere in St. Petersburg, it took nearly a half century before the String Quartet No. 3 was heard again in 1969, long after the composer's death. Similarly, the composer's String Quartet No. 4 had to wait for it's next performance until the 1980s and still remains unpublished. In this album the Vilnius String Quartet is giving beautiful world premiere recordings to these two expressive works by the Lithuanian composer.

Composer Jurgis Karnavicius (1884-1941) made significant contributions to the cultural life in Lithuania after returning back to his home country in the late 1920s. Karnavicius was a pupil Maximilian Steinberg at the St. Peterburg Conservatory later becoming a professor in his alma mater. During his years in St. Petersburg, the composer wrote four impressive String Quartets, filling the chronological and stylistic gap between the String Quartets of Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. Karnavicius' String Quartet No. 1 was published by Belaieff. It's folkloristic elements bring to mind the late quartets of Dvorák. Karnavicius' second Quartet, written a few years later and distributed by Universal Edition Vienna, already shows first signs of a shift towards Expressionism. In this album the Lithuanian Vilnius String Quartet offer world premiere recordings of these two forgotten gems.

Composers String Quartet - String [COMPACT DISCS] date 08/19/2013