Chiaroscuro Quartet: Beethoven, Mozart

"Youthful in membership but now well established, having been founded in 2005, the Chiaroscuro Quartet put period instrument practice to the fore, playing on gut strings, with minimal vibrato and tuning to the lower pitch of A430 (modern concert pitch is A440 or higher). You hear this strangeness the instant the opening chords sound in Beethoven's String Quartet in F minor Op 95. It takes a moment to grow accustomed to the unfamiliar timbre but the rewards are immense. Beethoven's quartet is at once raw, unadorned and agile, the harmonies more audibly dissonant. In contrast the Mozart E flat Quartet K428 feels airborne and elegant, the epitome of the classical style" (Fiona Maddocks, "Review," Guardian, 7/13/13).

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