The Saulesco Quartet

In the fall of 1962, the then string section leaders of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra founded what was to become one of Sweden’s top tier chamber ensembles of the 20th century. Concertmaster Mircea Saulesco on first violin, Claes Nilsson on second violin, Holger Hansson on viola, and Åke Olofsson on cello now constituted the Saulesco Quartet, and they performed their official debut concert a year later.

The Saulesco Quartet has both temperament and sophistication, and possesses a harmonic perfection one is not used to hear from newly formed ensembles, was one the many raving reviews, and suffice it to say that this was something the quartet developed and refined even further over the years. The group was characterized by their superb technique and uniform tone quality, with Mircea Saulesco’s warm and expressive timbre in the centre. He was very careful to synchronize the bowings for the whole ensemble, which contributed to the dense and stable interplay, even as the other quartet members were replaced over time. Later members included Martin Bylund (second violin), Aleksander Migdal (second violin), Leopold Rapoport (viola), and Leo Winland (cello). Together with pianist Hans Leygraf they also formed the Leygraf Piano Quartet.

The Saulesco Quartet made numerous tours, TV and radio recordings, both in Sweden and abroad. Among others, they were given the prestigious task of performing the Scandinavian premiere of Dmitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 10, and premiered and were dedicated several other works by composers such as Karl-Erik Welin and Dag Wirén. However, they never lost touch with the quartet music masters of old, like Joseph Haydn and Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky, and were able to display a tremendously broad repertoire.

Saulesco Quartet recorded three albums for Caprice Records, and until now, of all this material, only Shostakovich’s 4th and Wirén’s 5th quartets had been rereleased on CD and digital formats. Thus, this complete collection of the quartet’s Caprice recordings is the first time that the rest of this fine music is released for the digital market. In it one can find, in addition to the Shostakovich and Wirén recordings mentioned above, classical evergreens like Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 1 in D Major and Giacomo Puccini’s ”Crisantemi”, two elegant quartets by the Swedish classical era composer Johan Wikmanson, Karl-Erik Welin’s atmospheric PC-132, and Giuseppe Verdi’s only string quartet (as well as his only surviving chamber music work!).

Gunilla Sandberg Saulesco is the producer of all of the quartet’s recordings for Caprice Records. Mircea Saulesco died in 2013, at the age of 86.

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Show playlist

    • 1.
      Cristantemi Music: Giacomo Puccini

    • 2.
      String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11: I. Moderato e semplice Music: Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky

    • 3.
      String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11: II. Andante cantabile Music: Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky

    • 4.
      String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11: III. Scherzo: Allegro non tanto Music: Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky

    • 5.
      String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11: IV. Finale: Allegro giusto Music: Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky

    • 6.
      String Quartet No. 3 in B-Flat Major, Op. 1: I. Allegretto Music: Johan Wikmanson

    • 7.
      String Quartet No. 3 in B-Flat Major, Op. 1: II. Romance Music: Johan Wikmanson

    • 8.
      String Quartet No. 3 in B-Flat Major, Op. 1: III. Menuetto Music: Johan Wikmanson

    • 9.
      String Quartet No. 3 in B-Flat Major, Op. 1: IV. Scherzando poco presto Music: Johan Wikmanson

    • 10.
      String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83: I. Allegretto Music: Dmitri Shostakovich

    • 11.
      String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83: II. Andantino Music: Dmitri Shostakovich

    • 12.
      String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83: III. Allegretto (attacca) Music: Dmitri Shostakovich

    • 13.
      String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83: IV. Allegretto Music: Dmitri Shostakovich

    • 14.
      PC-132 for String Quartet Music: Karl-Erik Welin

    • 15.
      String Quartet No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 1: I. Allegro di molto Music: Johan Wikmanson

    • 16.
      String Quartet No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 1: II. Un poco adagio Music: Johan Wikmanson

    • 17.
      String Quartet No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 1: III. Menuetto Music: Johan Wikmanson

    • 18.
      String Quartet No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 1: IV. Finale: Prestissimo Music: Johan Wikmanson

    • 19.
      String Quartet No. 5, Op. 41: I. Allegro molto Music: Dag Wirén

    • 20.
      String Quartet No. 5, Op. 41: II. Andante espressivo Music: Dag Wirén

    • 21.
      String Quartet No. 5, Op. 41: III. Allegro Music: Dag Wirén

    • 22.
      String Quartet in E Minor: I. Allegro Music: Giuseppe Verdi

    • 23.
      String Quartet in E Minor: II. Un poco adagio Music: Giuseppe Verdi

    • 24.
      String Quartet in E Minor: III. Menuetto Music: Giuseppe Verdi

    • 25.
      String Quartet in E Minor: IV. Scherzo fuga: Allegro assai Music: Giuseppe Verdi

  • Total playtime
Digital // CAP 80010 // Klassiskt // Releasedate: 9 December, 2016