Fine Arts Quartet

Fine Arts Quartet - Four American Quartets: Philip Glass, Bernard Herrmann, George Antheil, Ralph Evans (2008)

Fine Arts Quartet - Four American Quartets (2008)
Philip Glass - Bernard Herrmann - George Antheil - Ralph Evans

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 289 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 154 Mb | Scans included
Classical, Chamber | Label: Naxos | # 8.559354 | Time: 01:02:25

This recording gathers four string quartets by American composers who are widely divergent in style and manner, and who have made a distinctive and personal contribution to this endlessly re-inventive format. Ralph Evans is more familiar as a performer than composer. Finally completed in 1995, his First String Quartet is written in a non-derivative style, with tuneful melodies, lively counterpoint and piquant harmonies. Philip Glass has completed five mature quartets, his Second Quartet deriving from a theatrical presentation of Samuel Beckett’s prose poem Company. The self-styled ‘bad boy of American music’, George Antheil wrote three string quartets, the third of which is permeated by a folk-music ambience. Best remembered for his film scores, Bernard Herrmann had not released a concert work for 25 years when he wrote Echoes. Its title applies to the thematic connections unobtrusively linking the ten sections of this one-movement piece.
Fine Arts Quartet, Anna Kreetta Gribajcevic & Jens Peter Maintz - Spirit of Bohemia (2021)

Fine Arts Quartet, Anna Kreetta Gribajcevic & Jens Peter Maintz - Spirit of Bohemia (2021)
WEB FLAC (tracks) - 346 Mb | MP3 CBR 320 kbps - 184 Mb | Digital booklet | 01:18:28
Classical | Label: Naxos Records

Antonín Dvoráks music, imbued with the spirit of Bohemia, reflects a love of his native land. His String Sextet, written in the distinctive style which brought him international fame, was an immediate success at its premiere. Composed just eight years earlier, his String Quartet No. 4, unpublished until 1968, features pioneering, wild outer movements, highly unusual for the time, which foreshadowed the modernist innovations of composers decades later. A moving Andante religioso, which Dvorák made use of in future works, lies at its heart. The Polonaise exploits both the soulful and virtuoso character of the cello.

Fine Arts Quartet - Camille Saint-Saëns: String Quartets (2011)  Music

Posted by tirexiss at April 17, 2023
Fine Arts Quartet - Camille Saint-Saëns: String Quartets (2011)

Fine Arts Quartet - Camille Saint-Saëns: String Quartets (2011)
EAC | FLAC (image+.cue, log) | Covers Included | 01:02:42 | 312 MB
Genre: Classical | Label: Naxos | Catalog: 8.572454

The two string quartets of Camille Saint-Saëns are not among the deathless masterpieces in the genre, but they offer enough entertaining and agreeable music to be regarded as minor classics of chamber music. The String Quartet in E minor, Op. 112, and the String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 153, share the craftsmanship, intellectual rigor, and tastefulness that are characteristic of Saint-Saëns' conservative style.
Fine Arts Quartet - Antonín Dvořák: Spirit of Bohemia (2021)

Fine Arts Quartet - Antonín Dvořák: Spirit of Bohemia (2021)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 346 Mb | Total time: 78:32 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Naxos | # 8.574205 | Recorded: 2019, 2020

Antonín Dvořák’s music, imbued with the spirit of Bohemia, reflects a love of his native land. His String Sextet, written in the distinctive style which brought him international fame, was an immediate success at its premiere. Composed just eight years earlier, his String Quartet No. 4, unpublished until 1968, features pioneering, wild outer movements, highly unusual for the time, which foreshadowed the modernist innovations of composers decades later. A moving Andante religioso, which Dvořák made use of in future works, lies at its heart. The Polonaise exploits both the soulful and virtuoso character of the cello. Volumes 1–8 are also available.
Alon Goldstein, Lizzie Burns & Fine Arts Quartet - Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 19 & 25 (2023)

Alon Goldstein, Lizzie Burns & Fine Arts Quartet - Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 19 & 25 (Arr. for Piano and String Quintet by Ignaz Lachner) (2023)
WEB FLAC (tracks) - 230 Mb | MP3 CBR 320 kbps - 138 Mb | Digital booklet | 00:58:23
Classical | Label: Naxos Records

Mozart’s return to Vienna in 1781 initiated a remarkable period of inventiveness and productivity. In late 1784 he wrote the Piano Concerto No. 19 in F major, a work Mozart performed in Frankfurt on the occasion of Leopold II’s election as Holy Roman Emperor and which is notable for its rhythmic vivacity and sense of colour. In 1786 he wrote the Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major – a work that stretched the concerto genre considerably with its operatic qualities and dramatic dialogue. Ignaz Lachner’s ingenious transcriptions show a complete grasp of Mozart’s idiom, incorporating much instrumental detail and reinventing the music’s underlying dramatic scheme within a chamber context.
Ralph Evans & Fine Arts Quartet - Enescu: Early Chamber Music (2023)

Ralph Evans, Gisele Witkowski, Niklas Schmidt, Fabio Witkowski, Efim Boico, Gil Sharon, Alexander Bickard & Fine Arts Quartet
WEB FLAC (tracks) - 258 Mb | MP3 CBR 320 kbps - 161 Mb | 01:08:31
Classical | Label: Naxos Records

It was in Paris just before the end of the 19th century that George Enescu began to compose prolifically, but it is only in recent years that a number of these scores have emerged. The Piano Quintet in D major is one such work, lost for decades, but which proves to be a robust and elaborate piece reflecting the influence of Brahms. Enescu’s liking for unusual instrumental combinations is another theme of this album, such as the Prélude et Gavotte for violin, cello and two pianos, and the eloquent Pastorale, Menuet triste et Nocturne for violin and piano four hands. Aubade is Enescu’s only string trio, and the ever-popular Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in the arrangement for piano and string quintet ends the programme with a flourish.
Alon Goldstein, Fine Arts Quartet & Alex Bickard - Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 23 & 24 (Arr. I. Lachner) (2018)

Alon Goldstein, Fine Arts Quartet & Alex Bickard - Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 23 & 24 (Arr. I. Lachner) (2018)
WEB FLAC (tracks) - 224 Mb | MP3 CBR 320 kbps - 135 Mb | Digital booklet | 00:58:25
Classical | Label: Naxos Records

Mozart himself saw the advantages of creating more accessible versions of his concertos in reduced instrumentation. Ignaz Lachner followed common 19th-century practice by leaving the piano parts of these concertos intact and making splendid transcriptions of the orchestra parts using only a string quartet with added bass. K. 488 and K. 491 are two of Mozart’s greatest and most popular piano concertos. These chamber versions throw an intense and intimate new light on familiar music. Alon Goldstein is one of the most original and sensitive pianists of his generation, admired for his musical intelligence and dynamic personality. His career as a soloist has taken him all over the world, working with leading orchestras and conductors.
Ludwig van Beethoven 250 - Complete Edition [90CDs], Vol.4: Chamber Part 2 (2019)

Ludwig van Beethoven 250 - Complete Edition [90CDs], Vol.4: Chamber Part 2 (2019)
XLD | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 2,86 Gb | Total time: 10:58:24 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Naxos | # 8.500250 | Recorded: 1987-2019

Beethoven’s monumental contribution to Western classical music is celebrated here in this definitive collection marking the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth. Surveying the totality of his career and achievement, the Complete Edition spans orchestral, concerto, keyboard, chamber, music for the stage, choral and vocal works, encompassing his most familiar and iconic masterpieces, alongside rarities and recently reconstructed fragments and sketches in world premiere recordings. The roster of artists and ensembles includes some of Beethoven’s greatest contemporary exponents, in performances that have won critical acclaim worldwide.
Fine Arts Quartet & Michel Lethiec - Herrmann: Souvenirs de voyages; Del Tredici: Magyar Madness (2016)

Fine Arts Quartet & Michel Lethiec - Herrmann: Souvenirs de voyages; Del Tredici: Magyar Madness
Classical | WEB FLAC (tracks) & d. booklet | 68:54 min | 303 MB
Label: Naxos | Tracks: 06 | Rls.date: 2016

“When I first became acquainted with the scores of Bernard Herrmann’s Souvenirs de voyage and David Del Tredici’s Magyar Madness, I was struck by how much these seductive quintets had in common, despite being completely different in mood and style. Both of these compelling works were written for string quartet plus clarinet by distinguished American composers who were pioneers in the Neo-Romantic movement, and both wistfully evoke the spirit of diverse European cultures. They seemed to be the ideal, odd couple. And Magyar Madness would be a world première release, to boot, so I felt they just had to be recorded together.” – Ralph Evans, Fine Arts Quartet

Fine Arts Quartet - Beethoven: Works for String Quartet (2020)  Music

Posted by ciklon5 at Jan. 22, 2020
Fine Arts Quartet - Beethoven: Works for String Quartet (2020)

Fine Arts Quartet - Beethoven: Works for String Quartet (2020)
FLAC tracks | 01:10:10 | 320 Mb
Genre: Classical / Label: Naxos

The string quartets of Beethoven are among the greatest works of their kind, but he composed other works for quartet which have been neglected. This album is dedicated to these intriguing rarities. Alongside the wild and monumental Grosse Fuge, in many ways the culmination of Beethoven’s achievements in the string quartet genre, this recording further displays his mastery of counterpoint by bringing to light brilliant yet forgotten original versions of his quartets Op. 18, No. 1 and Op. 131, plus six virtually unknown miniatures, including his Preludes and Fugues.