Martinu String Quartets

Long available only in a larger box, the only available digital-era set of Martinů’s string quartets, recorded in 1990 by a native Czech ensemble. Composer: Bohuslav Martinu Artists: Stamic Quartet 🎵 Purchase or streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music): 💎 More Information: 🎬🎮 These tracks are available for sync licensing in videos, films, tv-shows, games, advertising and more. For more information and to request a license go to: Martinů composed seven quartets over the course of his career, from the First in 1918 to the Seventh in 1947. This chronological range therefore mirrors the development of his music, from Debussy and Franck-accented Bohemianism in the First to a more up-to-date French influence on the Second from 1925, which arrives in the finale at the kind of chugging accumulations of motoric energy that became his trademark. The Third (1929) proceeds to refine and concentrate this style, still inflected with Czech folk rhythms, before the Fourth (1937) embarks on the project of spicy neoclassicism which lends Martinu’s mid-period masterpieces such as the Fourth and Fifth symphonies their particular, ambiguous sense of industry. Indeed the Fifth Quartet of 1938 is a pivotal work in his huge and multifaceted oeuvre, unsettled, introspective and apparently shadowed by a secret affair with a pupil, whose song is quoted within the quartet. No.6 dates from 1946, written in Martinů’s postwar exile in the US and yet optimistic where Bartok’s Sixth in similar circumstances is a soul-searching affair. From a year later, the Seventh still retains a youthful, neoclassical vigour, and a Czech flavour to the melodies. This generously filled set concludes with the attractive ‘Madrigals’ Duo and the Second String Trio. The direct emotional appeal of all seven quartets is vividly brought to life by the Stamitz Quartet in a recording first issued in 1990, and which still has very few rivals on disc. Established in 1985, the Stamitz Quartet quickly became known as leading interpreters of Czech repertory. ‘I can heartily recommend this comprehensive traversal of the unpredictable, occasionally highly impressive works that make up the corpus of Martinů’s Quartets.’ (MusicWeb International) Tracklist: 00:00:00 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 1, H. 117: I. Moderato-allegro ma non troppo 00:09:39 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 1, H. 117: II. Andante moderato 00:17:16 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 1, H. 117: III. Allegro non troppo 00:27:34 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 1, H. 117: IV. Allegro con brio 00:40:24 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 2, H. 150: I. Moderato-allegro vivace 00:47:49 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 2, H. 150: II. Andante 00:54:06 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 2, H. 150: III. Allegro 01:00:10 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 3, H. 183: I. Allegro 01:04:24 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 3, H. 183: II. Andante 01:09:17 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 3, H. 183: III. Vivo 01:12:39 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 4 in D Major, H. 256: I. Allegro poco moderato 01:18:14 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 4 in D Major, H. 256: II. Allegro scherzando 01:21:49 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 4 in D Major, H. 256: III. Adagio 01:28:26 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 4 in D Major, H. 256: IV. Allegro 01:32:44 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 5, H. 268: I. Allegro ma non troppo 01:38:46 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 5, H. 268: II. Adagio 01:45:09 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 5, H. 268: III. Allegro vivo 01:50:44 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 5, H. 268: IV. Lento, allegro 01:59:13 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 6, H. 312: I. Allegro moderato 02:05:54 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 6, H. 312: II. Andante 02:13:26 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 6, H. 312: III. Allegro 02:21:15 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 7, H. 314: I. Poco allegro 02:28:26 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 7, H. 314: II. Andante 02:36:25 Bohuslav Martinu: String Quartet No. 7, H. 314: III. Allegro vivo 02:42:34 Bohuslav Martinu: Duo No. 1 ‘3 Madrigals’, H. 313: I. Poco allegro 02:47:01 Bohuslav Martinu: Duo No. 1 ‘3 Madrigals’, H. 313: II. Poco andante 02:53:04 Bohuslav Martinu: Duo No. 1 ‘3 Madrigals’, H. 313: III. Allegro 02:58:49 Bohuslav Martinu: String Trio No. 2, H. 238: I. Allegro 03:06:43 Bohuslav Martinu: String Trio No. 2, H. 238: II. Poco moderato Spotify Playlists: Brilliant Classics Spotify: New Classical Releases: #brilliantclassics #classicalmusic #classical #string