Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | String Quartet no. 14 in C sharp minor, Op.131

In one of their final performances, the Emerson String Quartet comes to Cleveland to present André Previn’s Penelope, featuring Renée Fleming and other special guests.

The world premiere of Hannah Lash's Forestallings, rooted in her childhood love of Beethoven's Second Symphony, links to Peter Oundjian's arrangement of the Op.131 string quartet later in the program. 

Absence makes the ear as well as the heart grow fonder in Sheffield's Upper Chapel.  

The Kuss Quartet sandwich Kurtág’s Officium Breve between two late Beethoven quartets in the elegant surroundings of the Small Concert Room, St George’s Hall, Liverpool. 

Three young string quartets competing for first prize at the the13th Banff International String Quartet Competition played so well that they took the jurors into double overtime.

The Kuss Quartet played the full cycle of Beethoven string quartets in five concerts. With the legendary "Paganini set" of four Stradivarius instruments, these turned out to be special days.

Cuerteto Casals delivers audience the gems of Beethoven String Quartets at their full potential at Suntory Hall Blue Rose Hall. 

The Borodin Quartet put on a showcase display of pure, rich tone and superbly unanimous playing at Sage Gateshead but their Shostakovich lacked bite.

The Borodin Quartet’s played two Shostakovich quartets, as well as Beethoven Op.131. From the very first notes onwards they captivated the audience with their elegant and well-balanced sound.

The Danish String Quartet provide a thoughtful Haydn, a compelling Beethoven and a Nielsen which shows them at their best. 

At Lincoln Center’s Stanley Kaplan Penthouse, music drips through the air like wax from the candles on the tables scattered throughout the space. At late-night concerts, part of the annual Mostly Mozart Festival, concert-goers can listen to works by and influenced by Mozart while drinking wine and drinking in the view from the tenth floor.

This concert by England’s Tippett Quartet, their debut in Canada, was about time. The Quartet came together in 1998, the year of the passing of their namesake, Sir Michael Tippett. Their first musical offering of the afternoon was Tippett’s Fifth and final String Quartet (1991), with Anna Smith filling in for Jeremy Isaac on second violin.

Music fans love to get the whole picture. We consume box-sets, bootlegs, alternate takes, and artist interviews – all in the name of completeness. Some people say a good CD library should have at least three Eroicas and five Fifths to be complete, while music magazines might recommend more. Of course, live music venues have their own shot at completeness when they schedule a “cycle”.

It would be difficult indeed to imagine an evening of string quartet playing at once more diverse and more brilliant than this. Already one of the world’s finer quartets after only a few years in the public eye, the Quatuor Ebène are notable for their catholic tastes.

The renowned Chilingirian Quartet gave an electrifying performance of celebrated string quartets by Bartok, Haydn and Beethoven at London's Wigmore Hall.The concert began with an outstanding rendition of Bartok’s Fourth String Quartet (1928), which consists of five movements in a loose ‘arch’ form.

De la complejidad estructural de Beethoven a la profunda inspiración melódica de Schubert, el Cuarteto Emerson brilló en todo momento.

Dans la salle des concerts de la Cité de la Musique, le Quatuor Danel a marqué les esprits par son engagement, non sans susciter des réserves.

Cadre intime pour le Quatuor n°14 opus 131 interprété par le Quatuor Diotima. Un moment musical d'une rare émotion.

Jeudi à l’Opéra de Clermont on aurait en vain cherché, dans cette version pour orchestre de la Sonate à Kreutzer, la fougue de Beethoven qui voulait « saisir le destin à la gueule ». Non que l’Orchestre d’Auvergne eut démérité. Mais « l’arrangement » de l’australien Richard Tognetti inscrit dans son intention les limites de sa démarche.

Une soirée qui se voulait un hommage vibrant à la personnalité d'Adolf Busch. Mais dans leur approche géométrique, le style résolument moderne et leur son patiné : aucune trace des Busch chez le Quatuor Renaud Capuçon. 

Remplaçant le Quatuor Artemis, en deuil de leur altiste Friedemann Weigle, les Belcea nous offrent deux très belles lectures des Dissonances de Mozart et de l'Op. 131 de Beethoven, œuvres qu'ils traduisent avec beaucoup de finesse.