With the music of Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) we reach a high point in Scandinavian chamber music. Grieg’s String Quartet in G minor (opus 27) was created in 1878 and shows how much Norwegian Hardanger violin music, with its double stopping and full sound, left its marks. This music in all its parts is connected by a central theme: the beginning of Grieg’s song ‘the Minstrel’, opus 25:1. Thirteen years later, Grieg ventured a Second String Quartet, in F major, which he was eventually not able to complete. Not long before his death, Grieg again tried to finalize “the damned work that has been left over like an old Norwegian cheese” after all, but unfortunately, inspiration lacked.
Edvard Grieg – String Quartet in G minor, opus 27 (1878)
(1) Un poco andante – Allegro molto ed agitato, (2) Romanze. Andantino, (3) Intermezzo. Allegro molto marcato, (4) Finale. Lento – Presto al Saltarello
Performing artists: Auryn Quartet
CD: CPO
Edvard Grieg – String Quartet in F major (1891)
(1) Sostenuto – Allegro vivace e grazioso, (2) Allegro scherzando – Piu vivo – Allegro scherzando
Performing artists: Auryn Quartet
CD: CPO
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