The Swedish String Quartet

The Frydén String Quartet, Fresk Quartet, Berwald Quartet, Saulesco Quartet, Crafoord String Quartet, Stockholm String Quartet, Gotland Quartet

The fourth instalment in Caprice Records’ series of Swedish classical music deals with, not a specific instrument, but one of the (if not the most) popular ensemble forms in chamber music as a whole. The string quartet, consisting of two violins, one viola, and one cello, was originally developed as a formal ensemble by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn in the middle of the 18th century, and quickly became a very popular combination of instruments to compose for. The limitation of four individual voices combined with the instruments’ internal kinship creates an incredibly intimate and at the same time defined harmony, especially so if the music comes from a composer with full control of the genre. Many of Haydn’s direct followers on the Viennese music scene devoted a large portion of their output to the string quartet. Among these, W.A. Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Schubert are worth mentioning in particular, their works contributing to consolidate the ensemble form’s position.

Even in the, at the time remote Sweden, the string quartet made a strong impact, i.a. through the creation of several chamber music societies, like Mazerska Kvartettsällskapet in Stockholm in the early 19th century. Johan Wikmanson and Joseph Martin Kraus were two of the earliest Swedish composers who embraced the string quartet, and Wikmanson’s quartets in particular are regarded as among his finest works.

This paved the way for several of the great Swedish composers of the Romantic Era, among them Franz Berwald and Wilhelm Stenhammar, to compose famous quartet music. And just like in all other aspects of Swedish art music production, the number of string quartets literally exploded during the 20th century, where almost every great name in the genre added one or several string quartet to their list of works. Dag Wirén wrote five of them – Hilding Rosenberg made time for thirteen!

On these recordings you’ll hear several of the premier Swedish string quartets of the 20th century, like the Fresk Quartet, Berwald Quartet, Stockholm String Quartet, and Saulesco Quartet.

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    • 1.
      String Quartet No. 2 in A minor: I. Introduzione: Adagio - Allegro Music: Franz Berwald

    • 2.
      String Quartet No. 2 in A minor: II. Adagio Music: Franz Berwald

    • 3.
      String Quartet No. 2 in A minor: III. Scherzo: Allegro assai Music: Franz Berwald

    • 4.
      String Quartet No. 2 in A minor: IV. Finale: Allegro molto Music: Franz Berwald

    • 5.
      String Quartet No. 5 in C major, Op. 29, 'Serenade': I. Allegro molto con spirito Music: Wilhelm Stenhammar

    • 6.
      String Quartet No. 5 in C major, Op. 29, 'Serenade': II. Ballata: Allegretto scherzando Music: Wilhelm Stenhammar

    • 7.
      String Quartet No. 5 in C major, Op. 29, 'Serenade': III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace Music: Wilhelm Stenhammar

    • 8.
      String Quartet No. 5 in C major, Op. 29, 'Serenade': IV. Finale: Allegro molto Music: Wilhelm Stenhammar

    • 9.
      Lyrical Metamorphosis for String Quartet, Op. 2 Music: Åke Hermanson

    • 10.
      String Quartet No. 4: I. Allegro assai Music: Hilding Rosenberg

    • 11.
      String Quartet No. 4: II. Poco lento Music: Hilding Rosenberg

    • 12.
      String Quartet No. 4: III. Allegretto Music: Hilding Rosenberg

    • 13.
      String Quartet No. 4: IV. Allegretto con brio Music: Hilding Rosenberg

    • 14.
      String Quartet No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 1: I. Allegro di molto Music: Johan Wikmanson

    • 15.
      String Quartet No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 1: II. Un poco adagio Music: Johan Wikmanson

    • 16.
      String Quartet No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 1: III. Menuetto Music: Johan Wikmanson

    • 17.
      String Quartet No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 1: IV. Finale: Prestissimo Music: Johan Wikmanson

    • 18.
      Zona rosa per quartetto d'archi Music: Eskil Hemberg

    • 19.
      String Quartet No. 4: I. Adagio, ma inquieto Music: Hans Eklund

    • 20.
      String Quartet No. 4: II. Allegro molto Music: Hans Eklund

    • 21.
      String Quartet No. 4: III. Parafrasi Music: Hans Eklund

    • 22.
      String Quartet No. 2: I. Adagio Music: Sven-Erik Bäck

    • 23.
      String Quartet No. 2: II. Allegro - Adagio Music: Sven-Erik Bäck

    • 24.
      PC-132 for String Quartet Music: Karl-Erik Welin

    • 25.
      String Quartet No. 3, Op. 65: I. Allegro Music: Lars-Erik Larsson

    • 26.
      String Quartet No. 3, Op. 65: II. Allegretto - Presto - Allegretto Music: Lars-Erik Larsson

    • 27.
      String Quartet No. 3, Op. 65: III. Largo Music: Lars-Erik Larsson

    • 28.
      String Quartet No. 5, Op. 41: I. Allegro molto Music: Dag Wirén

    • 29.
      String Quartet No. 5, Op. 41: II. Andante espressivo Music: Dag Wirén

    • 30.
      String Quartet No. 5, Op. 41: III. Allegro Music: Dag Wirén

    • 31.
      Disegno per quartetto d'archi Music: Anders Eliasson

    • 32.
      String Quartet No. 3 in E-Flat Major: I. Allegro con brio - Allegro di molto Music: Franz Berwald

    • 33.
      String Quartet No. 3 in E-Flat Major: II. Adagio quasi andante Music: Franz Berwald

    • 34.
      String Quartet No. 3 in E-Flat Major: III. Scherzo: Allegro assai Music: Franz Berwald

    • 35.
      String Quartet No. 3 in E-Flat Major: IV. Adagio Music: Franz Berwald

    • 36.
      String Quartet No. 3 in E-Flat Major: V. Allegro di molto Music: Franz Berwald

    • 37.
      String Quartet: I. Lentando rigoroso Music: Gösta Nystroem

    • 38.
      String Quartet: II. Allegro scherzando Music: Gösta Nystroem

    • 39.
      String Quartet: III. Lento Music: Gösta Nystroem

    • 40.
      Miniatures for String Quartet Music: Hans Holewa

    • 41.
      String Quartet No. 4 in A minor, Op. 25: I. Allegro ma non troppo Music: Wilhelm Stenhammar

    • 42.
      String Quartet No. 4 in A minor, Op. 25: II. Adagio Music: Wilhelm Stenhammar

    • 43.
      String Quartet No. 4 in A minor, Op. 25: III. Scherzo: Allegro Music: Wilhelm Stenhammar

    • 44.
      String Quartet No. 4 in A minor, Op. 25: IV. Aria variata: Andante semplice Music: Wilhelm Stenhammar

    • 45.
      String Quartet No. 3: I. Moderato Music: Jan Carlstedt

    • 46.
      String Quartet No. 3: II. Allegro Music: Jan Carlstedt

    • 47.
      String Quartet No. 3: III. Adagio (attacca) - IV. Andante - Vivo Music: Jan Carlstedt

    • 48.
      Quartetto 2 per quartetto d'archi, '...farewell to a great friend…' Music: Daniel Börtz

    • 49.
      String Quartet No. 3 in B-Flat Major, Op. 1: I. Allegretto Music: Johan Wikmanson

    • 50.
      String Quartet No. 3 in B-Flat Major, Op. 1: II. Romance Music: Johan Wikmanson

    • 51.
      String Quartet No. 3 in B-Flat Major, Op. 1: III. Menuetto Music: Johan Wikmanson

    • 52.
      String Quartet No. 3 in B-Flat Major, Op. 1: IV. Scherzando poco presto Music: Johan Wikmanson

    • 53.
      String Quartet No. 4: I. First Movement Music: Sven-Erik Bäck

    • 54.
      String Quartet No. 4: II. Second Movement Music: Sven-Erik Bäck

    • 55.
      String Quartet No. 4: III. Epilogue Music: Sven-Erik Bäck

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Digital // CAP 80006 // Swedish Classical Music // Classical //