MOZART W.A. STRING QUARTET No.15, BEETHOVEN L.v. STRING QUARTETS Op.18 / Vlach Quartet

CD I

Ludwig van Beethoven - String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 18

1. Allegro 08:27

2. Andante con moto 08:29

3. Allegro 03:27

4. Presto 07:16

Ludwig van Beethoven - String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 18

5. Allegro con brio 07:40

6. Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato 10:14

7. Scherzo. Allegro molto 03:46

8. Allegro 06:22

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, K. 421

9. Allegro moderato 04:57

10. Andante 06:16

11. Menuetto. Allegretto 04:19

12. Allegretto ma non troppo 06:51

CD 2

Ludwig van Beethoven - String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 18

1. Allegro 07:44

2. Adagio cantabile. Allegro. Tempo I 06:33

3. Scherzo - Allegro 04:49

4. Allegro molto quasi presto 06:06

Ludwig van Beethoven - String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op. 18

5. Allegro 07:41

6. Menuetto 05:35

7. Andante cantabile 09:17

8. Allegro 05:33

Ludwig van Beethoven - String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18

9. Allegro ma non tanto 09:30

10. Scherzo. Andante scherzoso quasi allegretto 07:37

11. Menuetto. Allegretto 04:30

12. Allegro 04:36

CD 3

Ludwig van Beethoven - String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op. 18

1. Allegro con brio 06:53

2. Adagio, ma non troppo 07:07

3. Scherzo - Allegro 03:49

4. La Malinconia, adagio - Allegretto quasi allegro - Adagio - Prestissimo 08:45

Ludwig van Beethoven - String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Razumovsky, Op. 59, No. 1

5. Allegro 12:01

6. Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando 10:07

7. Adagio molto e mesto (att.) 10:56

8. Theme russe. Allegro (att.) 08:22

CD 4

Ludwig van Beethoven - String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131

1. Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo 06:49

2. Allegro molto vivace 03:21

3. Allegro moderato - Adagio 00:55

4. Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile - ...Allegretto 13:59

5. Presto 06:24

6. Adagio quasi un poco andante 02:05

7. Allegro 06:36

Vlach Quartet (Josef Vlach violin, Václav Snítil violin, Josef Koďousek viola, Viktor Moučka cello)

Stereo studio recordings 15th January 1969 (CD I 1-4), 6th November 1970 (CD I 5-8), 11th May 1956 (CD I 9-12), 28th April 1969 (CD II 1-4), 17th November 1967 (CD II 5-12), 6th November 1970 (CD III 1-4), 12th October 1962 (CD III 5-8), 10th December 1960 (CD IV)

After having paid tribute to the legacy of the Czech Chamber Orchestra (SU42032), Supraphon has now commemorated another ensemble connected with the violinist and conductor Josef Vlach, a gifted pupil of Josef Talich. Established in 1950, since 1954 the Vlach Quartet performed in the line-up in which it had triumphed in the competition in Li?ge (1955) and in which it conquered stages worldwide and made all the recordings featured on this album. Two exciting quartets, the Smetana and the Vlach, were active in Prague, ensembles whose difference represented an inspiring polarity of approaches to music interpretation. Ivan Medek thus described the personality of Josef Vlach, who with kindness and authority alike formed the quartet's soul: "Similarly to Talich, Vlach was not a scholarly artist. Yet he possessed a remarkable ability, an acute sense for that which is really strong and communicative in music. His intellect seemed to be constantly fed from an immense source of profound emotional inspiration." The Vlach Quartet recorded Beethoven's quartets within 10 years (1960-70). Given the year in which it was recorded, 1956, the "bonus" Mozart quartet in D minor is one of the ensemble's oldest recordings made soon after their victory in Li?ge. The presented Beethoven tracks are merely part of the Vlach Quartet's remarkable legacy, which encompasses quartet works by Czech composers (Dvořák, Suk, Janáček, etc.), as well as by Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Debussy and Ravel. And after you have listened to the fourth disc of this compilation, there will be more to look forward to.

Timeless Beethoven pieces, as performed by the legendary Vlach Quartet.

(Supraphon 2017)