The third and final installment in their award-winning series, the Calidore Quartet return with a three-disc release of Beethoven Early Quartets, Vol. 3 (out now via Signum Classics).

Their previous Beethoven recordings have been described as highly collectible by BBC Music Magazine. The first album of Late Quartets won the Chamber Music Award at the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2024, and the second awarded Recording of the Month by Gramophone Magazine.

The contents of this recording project serve as a snapshot of their fourteen years of working, growing, listening and collaborating together. “Our interpretation speaks to the influences of our teachers and the great traditions associated with this repertoire, but also to that of our own generation, contemporary research, style and experience. Though this music speaks in a language that is hundreds of years old, it’s message remains immediate, relevant and comforting to listeners of today and of generations to come even, and especially, in the most challenging of times.”

Their interpretations of Beethoven are already critically acclaimed with performances at the Lincoln Centre planned as part of their residency.

Disc 1:
1. String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op 18 No 1 I. Allegro con brio
2. String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op 18 No 1 II. Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato
3. String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op 18 No 1 III. Scherzo. Allegro molto
4. String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op 18 No 1 IV. Allegro
5. String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op 18 No 2 I. Allegro
6. String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op 18 No 2 II. Adagio cantabile
7. String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op 18 No 2 III. Scherzo. Allegro
8. String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op 18 No 2 IV. Allegro molto, quasi presto

The first disc opens on the four piece String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op 18 No 1: the beautifully stern Allegro con brio, the elegantly serene Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato, the spirited Scherzo. Allegro molto, and rounds out on the dance floor swirls and twirls of the delightful Allegro; and then we get the four piece String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op 18 No 2: which opens on the flourishing Allegro, the serene Adagio cantabile, the dignified Scherzo. Allegro, closing on the flirtatiously cultured Allegro molto, quasi presto.

Disc 2:
1. String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op 18 No 3 I. Allegro
2. String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op 18 No 3 II. Andante con moto
3. String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op 18 No 3 III. Allegro
4. String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op 18 No 3 IV. Presto
5. String Quartet No. 4 in C major, Op 18 No 4 I. Allegro, ma non tanto
6. String Quartet No. 4 in C major, Op 18 No 4 II. Andante scherzoso quasi Allegretto
7. String Quartet No. 4 in C major, Op 18 No 4 III. Menuetto. Allegro
8. String Quartet No. 4 in C major, Op 18 No 4 IV. Allegretto. Prestissimo

The second disc opens on the four piece String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op 18 No 3: the stirring Allegro, the swirling Andante con moto, the sumptuous Allegro, culminating on the emphatic Presto; and then we get the four piece String Quartet No. 4 in C major, Op 18 No 4: the opulently sculpted Allegro, ma non tanto, the quietly polished Andante scherzoso quasi Allegretto, the effectively majestic Menuetto. Allegro, the set closing on the recherché Allegretto. Prestissimo.

Disc 3:
1. String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op 18 No 5 I. Allegro
2. String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op 18 No 5 II. Minuet
3. String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op 18 No 5 III. Andante cantabile
4. String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op 18 No 5 IV. Allegro
5. String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op 18 No 6 I. Allegro con brio
6. String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op 18 No 6 II. Adagio, ma non troppo
7. String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op 18 No 6 III. Scherzo Allegro
8. String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op 18 No 6 IV. La Malinconia Adagio. Questo pezzo si deve trattare ...

The third, and final disc, opens on the four piece String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op 18 No 5: which begins with the stylized Allegro, the ornamented Minuet, the classically dutiful Andante cantabile, rounding out on the tastefully delicate Allegro; and the collection comes to an end on the four piece String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op 18 No 6: and the emphatically-charged Allegro con brio, the rhythmical Adagio, ma non troppo, the elegant sophistication of Scherzo Allegro, ending with the demurely aristocratic swirls that reside within La Malinconia Adagio. Questo pezzo si deve trattare ...

Official 3CD Purchase Link

www.calidorestringquartet.com