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Mendelssohn and Beethoven Quartets

We present here the final works of two master composers - Felix Mendelssohn’s String Quartet Op. 80 and Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 135. Both are wonderful quartets, exhibiting the composers at the height of their abilities, and yet we were struck by the extreme contrast in emotional worlds presented in the two works.

Although Mendelssohn lived a relatively happy life, we discover here the flip-side of his normally sunny personality, as he creates a work filled with dark turbulence and heartbreak. Alternatively, although Beethoven’s emotional struggles are widely documented, his final work is one of delightful capriciousness and joy, ending in a spirit of humorous fun.

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Shostakovich and Britten Quartets

The quartets in this album—Dmitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 3 and Benjamin Britten’s String Quartet No. 2—provide us with two of the most powerfully personal reflections upon the dark chaos of the the World War II era. Although differing in their musical language, both works capture a rending sense of personal vulnerability in the face of large-scale war. Both quartets are epic in structure, but their universal outlook is constantly challenged by the emotional details of individual human suffering, and this is what makes their overall impression so profound.

“...the first recording from the Jupiter String Quartet is a definite winner... These two essential chamber scores of the mid-20th century work beautifully together.”
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch