Daniel Coomb Archive

ROBERT SCHUMANN: String Quartet No. 3; ALBAN BERG: Lyric Suite; GYORGY KURTAG: Officium Breve – Quartet Gerhard– Harmonia Nova 

by Audiophile Audition | Dec 30, 2017 | Classical CD Reviews

ROBERT SCHUMANN: String Quartet No. 3; ALBAN BERG: Lyric Suite; GYORGY KURTAG: Officium Breve – Quartet Gerhard– Harmonia Nova HMN 916108, [Distr. By Harmonia Mundi] 63:11, (10/23/17) ***1/2: Some emotionally deep music playing exceptionally by this young quartet. This is a fascinating release and mainly for the concept behind the new label, Harmonia Nova. Harmonia Nova, affiliated with the venerable Harmonia Mundi seeks to find and promote new classical music talent, especially younger promising artists. Certainly if we look at the five releases to date we see this is the case. Whether it is this excellent string quartet, Quartet Gerhard, or the vocalists and pianist featured so far within HMN’s first five releases none of these millennial talents are household names – yet. That may be the best and certainly a valid reason to check out this assemblage of three emotionally wrought string quartets played so beautifully. The Schumann third quartet is well known and represents Schumann’s overt paean to his love, Clara, and is filled with the excess and feeling that this somewhat controversial relationship brought to his life. Berg’s Lyric Suite is also one of the composer’s best known works from a composer whose music crossed the lines […]