Fitzwilliam Quartet: Complete Decca Recordings

The Fitzwilliam String Quartet is one of the longest established string quartets in the world. They first sat down to play together as undergraduates during their inaugural term at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, in Autumn 1968. Soon after graduating in 1971 they were booked for their first professional appointment, as quartet-in-residence in Wilfrid Meller's new music department at York University (succeeding the Amadeus Quartet). They quickly achieved international recognition for their diverse repertoire and were winners of the first-ever Gramophone Award for chamber music. Undoubtedly it was their much-documented personal connection with Shostakovich which first catapulted them into the public eye - the composer reportedly told Benjamin Britten that the Fitzwilliam were his 'preferred partners of my quartets' - but there were many other award-winning recordings on Decca, all collected here for the first time in one edition.

Disc 1
1: 1. Allegretto
2: 2. Lento
3: 3. Allegro
4: Adagio - Doppio movimento - Tempo primo
5: 1. Allegretto
6: 2. Adagio
7: 3. Allegretto

Disc 2
1: 1. Largo
2: 2. Allegro molto
3: 3. Allegretto
4: 4. Largo
5: 5. Largo
6: 1. Elegy
7: 2. Serenade
8: 3. Intermezzo
9: 4. Nocturne
10: 5. Funeral March
11: 6. Epilogue

Disc 3
1: 1. Allegretto
2: 2. Andantino
3: 3. Allegretto
4: 4. Allegretto
5: 1. Moderato - Allegretto
6: 2. Allegretto - Adagio - Moderato - Allegretto

Disc 4
1: 1. Allegretto
2: 2. Moderato con moto
3: 3. Allegro non troppo
4: 4. Adagio
5: 5. Moderato
6: 1. Introduction: Andantino
7: 2. Scherzo: Allegretto
8: 3. Recitative: Adagio
9: 4. Etude: Allegro
10: 5. Humoresque: Allegro
11: 6. Elegy: Adagio
12: 7. Finale: Moderato

Disc 5
1: 1. Allegro non troppo
2: 2. Andante
3: 3. Moderato
4: 1. Allegretto
5: 2. Moderato con moto
6: 3. Lento
7: 4. Allegretto

Disc 6
1: 1. Moderato con moto
2: 2. Adagio
3: 3. Allegretto
4: 4. Adagio
5: 5. Allegro
6: 1. Andante con moto
7: 2. Allegretto furioso
8: 3. Adagio
9: 4. Allegretto - Andante

Disc 7
1: 1. Moderato
2: 2. Moderato
3: 3. Allegro molto
4: 4. Allegro
5: 1. Overture (Moderato con moto)
6: 2. Recitative & Romance (Adagio)
7: 3. Valse (Allegro)
8: 4. Theme & Variations

Disc 8
1: 1. Elegy
2: 2. Polka
3: 1. Pesnya Ofelii
4: 2. Gamayun, ptitsa veshchaya
5: 3. My byli vmeste
6: 4. Gorod spit
7: 5. Burya
8: 6. Tayniye znaki
9: 7. Muzyka
10: 1. Prelude (Lento - Poco piu mosso - lento)
11: 2. Fugue (Adagio)
12: 3. Scherzo (Allegretto)
13: 4. Intermezzo (Lento - Appassionato)
14: 5. Finale (Allegretto)

Disc 9
1: 1. Adagio ma non troppo - Allegro
2: 2. Presto
3: 3. Andante con moto ma non troppo. Poco scherzando
4: 4. Alla danza tedesca (Allegro assai)
5: 5. Cavatina (Adagio molto espressivo)
6: Grosse Fuge in B flat major, Op. 133
7: 6. Finale (Allegro)

Disc 10
1: 1. Assai sostenuto - Allegro
2: 2. Allegro ma non tanto
3: 3. Canzona di ringraziamento offerta alla divinità da un guarito, in modo lidico (Molto adagio) - Sentendo nuova forza (Andante)
4: 4. Alla marcia, assai vivace - Più allegro - Presto
5: 5. Allegro appassionato

Disc 11
1: 1. Allegro ma non troppo
2: 2. Adagio
3: 3. Scherzo (Presto) - Trio (Andante sostenuto)
4: 4. Allegretto

Disc 12
1: 1. Allegro
2: 2. Adagio
3: 3. Andantino - Presto non assai, ma con sentimento
4: 4. Con moto
5: Italian Serenade in G major WW XV / 3

Disc 13
1: 1. Moderato - Allegro
2: 2. Andante con moto
3: 3. Scherzo: Prestissimo - Trio: Moderato
4: 4. Andante - Allegro risoluto
5: 1. Allegro
6: 2. Scherzo
7: 3. Notturno
8: 4. Finale

Disc 14
1: 1. Poco lento - Allegro - Tempo I
2: 2. Scherzo: Vivace
3: 3. Larghetto
4: 4. Finale: Allegro molto

Disc 15
1: 1. With animation
2: 2. Quick & lightly
3: 3. Late Swallows
4: 4. Very quick & vigorously
5: 1. Andante - Allegro molto moderato
6: 2. Vivace
7: 3. Adagio di molto
8: 4. Allegretto (ma pesante)
9: 5. Allegro

Number of Discs: 15

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