Founded in 1997 in Geneva, Switzerland, the inquisitive
Quatuor Terpsycordes makes its recording debut with a historical investigation of Robert Schumann's three String Quartets, Op. 41. Though the String Quartet No. 3 in A major is Schumann's best-known work in the genre, and had already been a part of this ensemble's repertoire, the recording project for Claves led to further exploration of the String Quartet No. 1 in A minor and the String Quartet No. 2 in F major, and provided the players an opportunity to look into some questionable markings in the published scores. By studying Schumann's originals, the ensemble noticed peculiarities that had been smoothed over by later performers and editors, and discovered that Schumann's odd figurations and syncopations were really conceived pianistically; at the same time, the musicians realized the futility of resolving this "two-handed" problem in practical terms for strings and decided instead to base its interpretations on the evolution of the first performances, as indicated by the changed bowings and phrasings penciled in the manuscripts. This recording plausibly reflects period practice ca. 1843, and demonstrates that historically informed recordings yield the most interesting results when the musicians themselves do the research rather than rely on received wisdom. The sound quality is crisp and focused.