Mendelssohn & Enescu: Octets Gringolts Quartet & Meta4

• Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847): Octet in E-Flat Major, Op. 20, MWV R 20:
• 1 Octet in E-Flat Major, Op. 20, MWV R 20: I. Allegro moderato ma con fuoco 13:39
• 2 Octet in E-Flat Major, Op. 20, MWV R 20: II. Andante 06:43
• 3 Octet in E-Flat Major, Op. 20, MWV R 20: III. Scherzo 04:25
• 4 Octet in E-Flat Major, Op. 20, MWV R 20: IV. Presto 05:49
• George Enescu (1881 - 1955): Octet for Strings in C Major, Op. 7:
• 5 Octet for Strings in C Major, Op. 7: I. Très modéré 12:29
• 6 Octet for Strings in C Major, Op. 7: II. Même temps 08:03
• 7 Octet for Strings in C Major, Op. 7: III. Très fougueux 09:03
• 8 Octet for Strings in C Major, Op. 7: IV. Mouvement de valse bien rythmée 08:31
• Total Runtime 01:08:42

Info for Mendelssohn & Enescu: Octets

Before Felix Mendelssohn produced his Octet for strings in 1825, only Louis Spohr had composed for a similar combination of instruments. Rather than an octet, however, Spohrs work was a double quartet written for two equal but independent string quartets. Mendelssohn, on the other hand, treated the eight instruments as a single unit, collaborating in symphonic orchestral style, as he himself put it. He was only sixteen when he composed the Octet, full of a youthful ardour that has made it one of his most popular works. It is a farewell to the Mozartian style that had characterized Mendelssohns early production and at the same time a first step on the way to Romanticism. The second octet on this disc is also a youthful work written at a time of transition, now from Romanticism to Modernism: George Enescu was 19 years old when he completed his Octet in C major in December 1900. The work is concentrated, complex and highly contrapuntal, a sounding illustration of what Enescu elsewhere described in words: I am by nature a polyphonist, not at all an advocate of sequences of pretty chords. I have a horror of anything that stagnates. For me, music is not a state but rather an action Among the small number of works for this instrumental combination, these belong to the very finest, and are here performed by two of todays leading quartets: the Gringolts Quartet and Meta4 have both made numerous acclaimed recordings in the most diverse repertoire.

Gringolts Quartet
Meta4

Gringolts Quartet
The Zurich-based Gringolts Quartet was founded in 2008, born from mutual friendships and chamber music partnerships that cross four countries: over the years, the Russian violinist Ilya Gringolts, the Romanian violist Silvia Simionescu and the Armenian violinist Anahit Kurtikyan frequently performed together in various chamber formations at distinguished festivals; the German cellist Claudius Herrmann played with Anahit Kurtikyan in the renowned Amati Quartet. What unites the four musicians is the immense joy they get from performing together and their passion for the high demands presented by the string quartet repertoire.

They have already had the opportunity to collaborate with eminent artists such as Leon Fleischer, Jörg Widmann, David Geringas, Malin Hartelius, Christian Poltéra and Eduard Brunner. Aside from the classical repertoire for string quartet, they are also dedicated performers of contemporary music, including string quartets by Marc-André Dalbavie, Jörg Widmann and Jens Joneleit.

Highlights from the past seasons include performances at the Salzburg Festival, Lucerne Festival, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, St Petersburg Philharmonia, L'Auditori Barcelona, Sociedad Filarmonica de Bilbao, Societa di Concerti in Milan and the Kasseler Musiktage. In the current season the Gringolts Quartet will make its debuts at Wigmore Hall, Louisiana Museum Copenhagen, Lugano Musica and Stockholm Konserthuset. Concert tours will take them to Italy, Germany and Switzerland.

The Gringolts Quartet's debut recording with works by Robert Schumann was released in 2011. Together with David Geringas the Gringolts Quartet participated in the world premiere recording of Walter Braunfels' quintet in 2012, which was awarded a "Supersonic Award," as well as an ECHO Klassik award. In 2014 they garnered attention with their Brahms CD (The interpretational concept reveals new ways of understanding the work. (Pizzicato.lu), while their latest CD with quintets by Glazunov and Taneyev with Christian Poltéra was released in Spring 2016 and awarded the Diapason d'Or.

The members of the Gringolts Quartet all play on rare Italian instruments. Ilya Gringolts plays a Giuseppe Guarneri "del Gesu" violin, Cremona 1742-43, on loan from a private collection. Anahit Kurtikyan plays a Camillo Camilli violin, Mantua 1733. Silvia Simionescu plays a Jacobus Januarius viola, Cremona 1660. Claudius Herrmann plays a Maggini cello, Brescia 1600. Prince Golizyn who was a great admirer of Beethoven, gave the first performances of the composer's last string quartets, which he commissioned, on this instrument.

Ensemble Meta4
formed in 2001, is one of the internationally most succesful Finnish string quartets. In 2004 Meta4 won the first prize in the International Shostakovich Quartet Competition in Moscow it enjoyed continued success in 2007, when they won the first prize in the International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna. The same year the Quartet was awarded the annual Finland Prize in recognition of an international breakthrough.

Meta4 performs regularly at both national and international concert halls and in numerous festivals. During the season 2019-20 the quartet will perform both in Finland as well as abroad, for instance in Bonn, London, Bilbao, Clermont-Ferrand, and Salzburg.

The quartet has also released three albums on Hänssler Classic (Haydn's String Quartets op. 55, 1-3; Shostakovich's String Quartets 3, 4 & 7 and Bartók's String Quartets 1 & 5), an album of Kaija Saariaho's chamber music works (Ondine) as well as an LP of Sibelius's String Quartet 'Voces Intimae' (Berliner Meister Schallplatten). Their newest album with Brahms Clarinet Quintet and Gérard Pesson’s Nebenstück together with Reto Bieri was released via ECM Records in 2019.

Booklet for Mendelssohn & Enescu: Octets