Der Revolutionär & seine Rivalen (The Revolutionary and His Rivals) is an addendum to the Casal Quartett's complete historical performance cycle of Beethoven's string quartets, timed to coincide with the Beethoven 250th anniversary year of 2020. In five volumes, it contains a large selection of works relating to the quartet's chosen theme. One may object that the final 60 percent of the program pertains largely to Beethoven's successors rather than to his rivals, to composers who benefited from Beethoven's revolutionary innovations; the fifth and final CD is devoted to Carl Czerny's String Quartet No. 28 in A flat major, written in 1851. This said, there is much here to interest Beethoven lovers. The Casal Quartett's playing, complete with severely over-resonant sound, will be familiar to those who've heard the cycle of Beethoven's quartets themselves; the group gets a lovely tone out of Classical-era strings. The biggest attraction for many will be that the quartet unearths some unusual works by Adalbert Gyrowetz, Peter Hänsel, and Gaetano Donizetti, who wrote numerous string quartets as a young man. His String Quartet No. 17 in D major is interesting not only for its deft interweaving of melody and structure but for various moves that show a deeper understanding of Beethoven than most other composers had in the mid-1820s: listen to the octave opening of the finale and its development. Quartets by Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Schubert are included; none of these were Beethoven's "rivals," but all receive attractive performances. This collection will find places on many shelves and hard drives.
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