Contemporaries of Joachim Raff (1822-82) valued him as an expert in the history of music and art and as a composer who knew how to produce richly colored instrumentations. Following releases of some of his symphonies and piano trios, cpo now turns to the composer's Second, Third, Fourth and Eighth String Quartets. In his Â»middle quartetsÂ« the classicistic control of his music from those years makes itself manifest, i.e., interpretive markings in Italian, exposition repeats unmotivated by an increased degree of difficulty, a reduction in chromatics and a return to old dance forms.

Tracklist:

String Quartet No. 2 In A Major, Op. 90: I. Rasch, Jedoch Ruhig
String Quartet No. 2 In A Major, Op. 90: II. Rasch
String Quartet No. 2 In A Major, Op. 90: III. Langsam, Doch Nicht Schleppend
String Quartet No. 2 In A Major, Op. 90: IV. Rasch
String Quartet No. 3 In E Minor, Op. 136: I. Allegro
String Quartet No. 3 In E Minor, Op. 136: II. Allegro Con Moto
String Quartet No. 3 In E Minor, Op. 136: III. Andante Con Moto
String Quartet No. 3 In E Minor, Op. 136: IV. Allegro Con Spirito
String Quartet No. 4 In A Minor, Op. 137: I. Allegro Patetico
String Quartet No. 4 In A Minor, Op. 137: II. Allegro, Non Troppo Vivo, Quasi Allegretto
String Quartet No. 4 In A Minor, Op. 137: III. Andante
String Quartet No. 4 In A Minor, Op. 137: IV. Finale: Presto
String Quartet No. 8 In C Major, Op. 192 No. 3 "Suite In Canon Form": I. Marsch: Allegro
String Quartet No. 8 In C Major, Op. 192 No. 3 "Suite In Canon Form": II. Sarabande: Andante, Moderato Assai
String Quartet No. 8 In C Major, Op. 192 No. 3 "Suite In Canon Form": III. Capriccio: Vivace
String Quartet No. 8 In C Major, Op. 192 No. 3 "Suite In Canon Form": IV. Arie (Doppelkanon): Quasi Larghetto
String Quartet No. 8 In C Major, Op. 192 No. 3 "Suite In Canon Form": V. Gavotte Und Musette: Allegro
String Quartet No. 8 In C Major, Op. 192 No. 3 "Suite In Canon Form": VI. Menuett: Allegro Molto
String Quartet No. 8 In C Major, Op. 192 No. 3 "Suite In Canon Form": VII. Gigue: Allegro

UPC: 761203700424
Label: Cpo Records
Release Date: 3.10.15
Format: CD

Raff / Mannheim String Quartet - String Quartets Nos. 2 & 3 & 4 & 8 (2 CD)