Finnish composer Kalevi Aho has produced a considerable and varied body of work that continues to grow rapidly. Aho first tackled the genre of string quartet at the very beginning of his composing career, more than fifty years ago, and has only recently returned to it. Aho was only 18 when he completed his String Quartet No. 1 in 1967. Self-taught at the time, Aho took his inspiration from the essentially tonal music he played on the violin or heard on the radio. The Second Quartet was composed in 1970, during his second year of studies at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with Einojuhani Rautavaara and uses fugue technique in each of it's movements. The first performance of the quartet received excellent reviews and marked a minor breakthrough for Aho as a composer.The Third Quartet dates from the following year and marks the end of Aho's studies with Rautavaara. In this work Aho's personal language begins to emerge, although the influence of Shostakovich can also be heard. The work was a great success and has been performed more often than any of his other chamber compositions. The three string quartets are performed here by the Stenhammar Quartet, one of Scandinavia's leading string quartets, whose extensive repertoire gives prominence to contemporary music from the Nordic countries.

Tracklist:

String Quartet No. 2~I. Adagio
String Quartet No. 2~II. Presto
String Quartet No. 2~III. Adagio
String Quartet No. 3~I. Vivace -
String Quartet No. 3~II. Andante -
String Quartet No. 3~III. Presto -
String Quartet No. 3~IV. Allegro non troppo -
String Quartet No. 3~V. Presto -
String Quartet No. 3~VI. Meno mosso -
String Quartet No. 3~VII. Adagio -
String Quartet No. 3~VIII. Allegretto
String Quartet No. 1~I. Moderato
String Quartet No. 1~II. Andante - Vivace - Andante
String Quartet No. 1~III. Presto
String Quartet No. 1~IV. Andante

UPC: 7318599926094
Label: Bis
Release Date: 1.3.25
Format: CD

Aho / Stenhammar Quartet - String Quartets Nos. 1 - 3 (CD)