- Ludwig von Beethoven (1770-1827)
- String Quartet in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3
- String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95 “Serioso” String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135
- Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
- String Quartet in G Major, Op. 76, No. 1: Finale
St-Laurent Studio YSL T-1225 [72:42]
Available as a CD — click here to purchase.
The Guarneri String Quartet (1964-2009) and I have a long prior history, commencing with their residency at Harpur College (later, SUNY Binghamton) in 1964-1968, exactly coinciding with my undergraduate years and with the beginning of my reviews in 1966 for the school’s Colonial News. When they first appeared, they had little sense of ensemble, often out of tune, and ragged in their approach to their chosen repertory, yet communicating an urgency and sincerity that would mark their style as the other issues resolved themselves. The group rather cultivated their sense of spontaneity and the energetic, rough edges that emerged in the heat of performance. When I approached cellist David Soyer with a point of difference on a musical gesture, he drily and forcefully quipped, “We play it as we perceive it at the moment.”