Aris String Quartet: Beethoven Quartets

BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert

An enthralling programme featuring two of Beethoven’s most passionate and inspired quartets.

The ‘Razumovsky’ series continues, marking the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death. According to Beethoven’s friend Carl Czerny, the slow movement of Op 59 No 2 was inspired by the ‘starry sky … and the music of the spheres’. The Quartet certainly has an epic quality, its restless first movement setting the scene for a work of limitless possibility. The ‘starry’ Adagio is followed by a Russian-themed scherzo and a thrilling finale. It is teamed with the C minor quartet from the earlier Op 18 group: dark, stormy and wonderfully uninhibited.

The sensational Aris Quartet are steeped in Beethoven’s works in his anniversary year and recently recorded the ‘Razumovsky’ set in the Count’s former palace in Vienna. Their free, communicative style is perfect for these vibrant and startling works.

Programme: Ludwig van Beethoven · String Quartet No 4 in C minor Op 18 No 4 · String Quartet No 8 in E minor Op 59 No 2, ‘Razumovsky’ — Aris String Quartet