Saturday, August 16, 2014

Prokofiev & Nadarejshvili - String Quartets

Fantastic and important release on Delos from 1999 featuring the world premiere recording (and still only one to date) of Georgian composer Zurab Nadarejshvili's String Quartet. It's an exciting work and a significant addition to the quartet repertoire. The delightful Prokofiev Quartets are played very well
here too; the St. Petersburg is among my top 3 fav interpretations. Enjoy!




"...powerful and atmospheric... somewhat reminiscent of Estonian Arvo Part's music. Its three movements are framed by pensive, sublime sections in which haunting drone tones blend with broken shards of Georgian folk themes." - Los Angeles Times 



Delos is proud to introduce the recording premiere of the Georgian composer Zurab Nadarejshvili's String Quartet. It is a glaring oversight that Nadarejshvili is not more well-known in the United States, but that will soon be rectified when music lovers hear this magnetic performance by the superb St. Petersburg String Quartet. This chamber work - an atmospheric, modernistic piece rooted in Georgian folk styles - took 1st Prize in the Young Composer's Competition of Moscow in 1987. The St. Petersburg String Quartet has performed this piece extensively during its recent international tour, and that intimate knowledge of this music, coupled with their technical brilliance, has created an entrancing musical experience. And, what could be a better complement to the accessible modernism of Nadarejshvili than the String Quartets of Sergei Prokofiev. Certainly many works of Prokofiev can be labeled as "accessible modernism," and it is interesting to juxtapose the two very different string quartets of 1930 (No. 1) and 1941 (No. 2) with the 1985 work of Nadarejshvili. The St. Petersburg String Quartet approaches the works of Prokofiev with all of the fire and mastery they exhibit with Nadarejshvili's music.

*iTunes store almost never provides artwork or liner notes pdfs, which is annoying. I will add liner
notes for uploads in the future if and when I can find them.

http://www64.zippyshare.com/v/52101870/file.html

4 comments:

chundachovis said...

Thank you very much! It's marvelous!

Tzadik said...

chundachovis you're welcome! I have always loved the Prokofiev quartets (Prokofiev is one of my top 5 composers) and then there's the premiere also of the Nadarejshvili, which I think is just fantastic. Best, Tz

AT said...

I've search the history of your uploads and I found a lot of interesting posts. It will take some time to download all and even more time hear all.
I send you my regards with best wishes for 2015

Audentity said...

Thank you very much! I like this version better than the Emerson Quartet on DG.