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Sibelius string quartet3/18/2024 ![]() Given its smaller scale, it proved to be an eloquent mode of communicating specifically private musical thoughts. ![]() ![]() Yet it similarly began to draw on more programmatic elements over the course of the nineteenth century. Like the symphony, the genre is adept at presenting and developing abstract musical material. The string quartet has something of a double life. These works give a unique insight into the private musical lives of their composers and are performed by the Dante Quartet with conviction and flawless technique. Voces intimae is an intense precursor to Sibelius’s tormented fourth Symphony, written at a time of profound depression. Interestingly, Smetana and Sibelius, both renowned for their skilful dealing with symphonic forces poignantly turned to the intimacy of the string quartet form at specific points of crisis in their lives. The musical language is adventurous and unusual, speaking movingly of the composer’s loss of his hearing. The turbulent second Quartet in D minor serves as a sequel to the first, continuing Smetana’s life story. ![]() Smetana’s Quartet No 1 in E minor is entitled ‘From my life’ and musically chronicles his youth, loves and vocation, culminating with the onset of his deafness. This group, renowned for their inventive interpretations and sensitive articulation, capture perfectly the expressive intensity of these masterpieces. BBC Music Magazine award winners the Dante Quartet return for their third Hyperion recording with the string quartets of Smetana and Sibelius. ![]()
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