Credits:

Chiaroscuro Quartet

Description:

The fourth installment in the complete Beethoven string quartet recordings by the Chiaroscuro Quartet, led by Alina Ibragimova. It features the First and Second Quartets from Opus 59, known as the “Razumovsky Set.” The Seventh Quartet, often called the “Heroic” for its monumental scale and grandeur, and the Eighth Quartet, which conveys a torrent of dark, intense emotion reminiscent of the Piano Sonata “Pathtique” written the previous year. These works were commissioned by Count Rasumovsky, Beethoven’s patron who employed a string quartet. Their unprecedented scale and innovative ideas bewildered not only the audience of the time but also the performers. However, Beethoven possessed unwavering confidence. When violinists complained about the difficulty of performing them, he reportedly told them, “This work is not for you, but for future generations.” Among today’s string quartets, some