Samek / Bell / Villiers String Quartet - Ring - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

With two Gramophone Awards to his name and a reputation synonymous with excellence, Markku Luolajan-Mikkola is a musician who is at the top of his profession. With an established fan base built over his two decades with viol consort Phantasm, Luolajan-Mikkola makes his solo Linn debut in style, tackling what is considered the pinnacle of Bach's output for violinists the Sonatas and Partitas. Transcribing these hugely popular works for cello, especially one in Baroque set-up, was not without it's risks, although performing on Baroque cello also offers compelling advantages. Luolajan-Mikkola takes his interpretative cue from the set-up of the Baroque instrument, which informs such issues as tuning, vibrato, fingering and articulation. Performing the Sonatas and Partitas on the cello is so challenging that it is almost impossible to imagine a cellist of Bach's day playing them, but Luolajan-Mikkola rises to the challenge with aplomb. Luolajan-Mikkola's main aim in this recording has been to capture emotion and convey expression according to the respective key and character of each movement, which he achieves in spades. Markku Luolajan-Mikkola is a historically informed musician who has given more than a thousand concerts in thirty countries.

Smetana's two string quartets could be said to be the first programmatic chamber music pieces ever written. The first quartet is a remarkable work with a very strong connection to Czech musicians. It belongs among the real treasures of Czech chamber music. The main characteristic of the second quartet is it's intensity of musical ideas, as the composer was deaf and close to the end of his life. The Dance of Comedians illustrates the famous era of Smetana ´s being considered the Czech national composer. An idiomatic account by one of Czech leading string quartets.

The Emerson String Quartet makes it PENTATONE debut with a recording of Schumann's three string quartets. Penned in the summer of 1842 during an exceptional peak of creativity, these quartets formed the beginning of a six-month surge during which most of Schumann's best chamber music saw the light. Inspired by the example of Beethoven, Schumann's quartets display a mastery of traditional forms, combined with typically Schumannian fantasy and lyricism, particularly in the inner movements. As such, they underline a new level of maturity in Schumann's artistic development, surpassing the fantastical aesthetic of previous years. The players of the Emerson String Quartet lift out the extraordinary freshness and originality of these works, and add another master composer's quartet oeuvre to their impressive discography, after having recorded the complete string quartets of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bartók, Webern and Shostakovich. The artistic strength of Schumann, whose life was dominated by alternating periods of depression and manic creativity, inspires and consoles the quartet members during the uncertain times of a pandemic, and his music may equally inspire listeners. Since it's foundation in 1976, the Emerson String Quartet is ranked among the world's most acclaimed chamber music ensembles.