Dvořák: String Quartets No. 12 Op. 96 "American" & No. 13 Op. 106 Merel Quartet

• Antonín Dvořák (1841 - 1904): String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96, B. 179 "American":
• 1 Dvořák: String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96, B. 179 "American": I. Allegro ma non troppo 09:47
• 2 Dvořák: String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96, B. 179 "American": II. Lento 06:50
• 3 Dvořák: String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96, B. 179 "American": III. Molto vivace 04:00
• 4 Dvořák: String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96, B. 179 "American": IV. Finale. Vivace ma non troppo 05:39
• Cypresses, B. 152:
• 5 Dvořák: Cypresses, B. 152: XI. Allegro scherzando 02:45
• String Quartet No. 13 in G Major, Op. 106, B. 192:
• 6 Dvořák: String Quartet No. 13 in G Major, Op. 106, B. 192: I. Allegro moderato 09:55
• 7 Dvořák: String Quartet No. 13 in G Major, Op. 106, B. 192: II. Adagio ma non troppo 10:30
• 8 Dvořák: String Quartet No. 13 in G Major, Op. 106, B. 192: III. Molto vivace 06:55
• 9 Dvořák: String Quartet No. 13 in G Major, Op. 106, B. 192: IV. Finale. Andante sostenuto. Allegro con fuoco 10:50
• Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, B. 178 "From the New World":
• 10 Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, B. 178 "From the New World": II. Largo (Arr. for String Quartet by Rafael Rosenfeld) 07:29
• Total Runtime 01:14:40

Info for Dvořák: String Quartets No. 12 Op. 96 "American" & No. 13 Op. 106

With its new Dvořák recording, the Merel Quartet presents a vivid and insightful portrait of a composer who remains one of music’s great humanists. Antonín Dvořák’s chamber works combine direct melodic appeal, harmonic ingenuity, and an unmistakable warmth that speaks across generations. This album brings together key works from his late creative period, complemented by two rare gems in compelling arrangements for string quartet.

Merel Quartet:
Mary Ellen Woodside, violin
Edouard Mätzener, violin
Alessandro D’Amico, viola
Rafael Rosenfeld, cello

Merel Quartet
These four musicians, with their wide range of expressive means, exude an irresistible enthusiasm.

Praised for their stylistic awareness and versatility, the Merels perform an extensive repertoire spanning three centuries, from Bach’s Art of the Fugue through to contemporary works by such modern masters as Kurtág, Saariaho and Holliger.

This exceptionally communicative quartet, founded in 2002, has received unanimous praise. The “Wiener Zeitung” writes: “This young Zürich ensemble’s music-making is extraordinarily precise and tonally exceedingly well-matched” and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung lauded the Merel Quartet for playing “with utmost expressivity and a subtle sense of form, tone and rhetoric."

The Merel Quartet has performed extensively in Europe in such prestigious venues as the Zürich Tonhalle and Wigmore Hall and in important festivals such as the Salzburger Festspiele, Lucerne Festival, Kunstfest Weimar, the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad and the Ittingen Whitsun Concerts. Known for their vivid performances, the quartet has excited audiences in Italy, France, England, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. In addition, the Merel Quartet enjoys collaborations with such artists as Juliane Banse, Ruth Ziesak, Dénes Várjon, Jürg Widmann, Thomas Demenga, the Quatour Ebène and the Quatour Mosaïques.

Frequent live radio performances for Swiss Radio SRF, Radio Suisse Romande as well as German and Italian radio have brought the Merels added recognition. The quartet’s debut album, including works by Schumann, Janacek and award-winning Swiss composer David Phillip Hefti was praised as the “the outstanding CD-Premier of a first-rate quartet” (Neue Zürich Zeitung am Sonntag).

Last year, the quartet released their second CD with works by Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn, again to high acclaim: “Permeated with a feverish intensity, with close attention to detail and exquisitely balanced illumination of the voices…” and “…their sound, agile and transparent, with a wide range of tonal colors, is irresistible.” (Das Orchester)

Booklet for Dvořák: String Quartets No. 12 Op. 96 "American" & No. 13 Op. 106