American Quartet

The Afflatus Quartet’s second album features classical repertoire by Beethoven and Mozart. The distinguished ensemble members create a rich, full sound on this wonderful disc…

From the notes: The Flonzaley made its first recording attepts in 1913 for Victor, but its earliest issued discs date from five years later. From that time until its disbandment in 1929, the Flonzaley was the première string quartet ensemble for the Victor/HMV family of labels. They recorded prolifically, with 32 acoustic and 92 electric sides published during the 78 rpm era, as well as another 11 sides that were first issued on LP or CD [Biddulph]. Even those numbers pale in comparison to the 860 total matrices they recorded. Their quest for perfection is evidenced by the high take number on the medley of two Spirituals presented here. The issued take came only after having recorded the work over eight sessions stretching over fourteen months."notes by Mark Obert-Thorn

Their recording of the American Quartet and String Quartet No. 13, Op. 106 (Gramophone Award - Recording of the Year), elevated the Pavel Haas Quartet among the finest performers of Antonín Dvorák's music. This position was subsequently confirmed by a recording of the composer's quintets, made with the violist Pavel Nikl, a founding member of the ensemble, and the pianist Boris Giltburg, winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition. The album received the most coveted classical music accolades (Gramophone Chamber Award, BBC Radio 3 Record Review Discs of the Year, Diapason d'Or, etc.). While recording the Dvorák quintets, the logical idea of a Brahms album was born.

The threads that connect the string quartets on this "American album" by San Francisco's Cypress String Quartet are a little tenuous. The booklet speaks of the mixture of ethnic influences that has been characteristic of concert music in the U.S., but two of the works, Kevin Puts' Lento assai and Samuel Barber's String Quartet in B minor, Op. 11, do not use ethnic materials at all.