Quartetto Italiano: The Complete RIAS Recordings

The ensemble's confidently-chosen name made it clear from the outset that the Quartetto Italiano saw itself not simply as an Italian string quartet among many, but as the authoritative one. The ensemble was soon recognized as a pioneer of Italian chamber music culture following the Second World War. Through their tireless obsession with detail, in-depth exploration of the works' musical expression, and the remarkable homogeneity of their quartet sound, the Quartetto Italiano conquered a firm place in the top league of leading string quartets over the first two decades of their career. The first release of the complete productions realized by the Quartetto Italiano for Berlin's RIAS between 1951 and 1963 highlights two aspects that the musicians would increasingly neglect in their later recordings: firstly, the focus on the music of their fellow countrymen, represented here in rarely-heard works by Gaetano Donizetti, Luigi Cherubini, and Gian Francesco Malipiero; and secondly, the enormous breadth of their repertoire, which ranged from Joseph Haydn, the father of the classical string quartet, to Dmitri Shostakovich's 'Seventh String Quartet' (brand new at the time of the recording). Three works on this release (Cherubini, Donizetti, and Shostakovich) can be heard performed by the Quartetto Italiano for the first time on CD.

Disc 1
1: I. Agitatissimo
2: II. Adagio, Ma Non Troppo
3: III. Presto
4: IV. Marcia Lugubre
5: I. Moderato Assai - Presto
6: II. Adagio
7: III. Scherzo. Allegro Non Troppo
8: IV. Finale. Allegro Vivace
9: I. Allegro
10: II. Allegro

Disc 2
1: I. Allegretto
2: II. Lento
3: III. Allegro
4: I. Allegro Moderato
5: II. Assez Vif. Très Rythmé
6: III. Très Lent
7: IV. Vif Et Agité
8: I. Allegro Ma Non Troppo
9: II. Andante Sostenuto
10: III. Menuetto. Allegro
11: IV. Presto

Disc 3
1: I. Allegro Vivace
2: II. Andante, Quasi Variazioni
3: III. Scherzo. Presto - Trio. L'istesso Tempo - Coda
4: IV. Allegro Molto Vivace
5: I. Allegro Moderato
6: II. Adagio
7: III. Menuetto. Presto
8: IV. Finale. Presto
9: I. Andante Espressivo - Allegro Molto Moderato
10: II. Assai Agitato
11: III. Adagio Molto
12: IV. Finale. Allegro Molto Vivace

Composer: Joseph Haydn, Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert, Dmitri Shostakovich, Luigi Cherubini, Gaetano Donizetti, Maurice Ravel, Gian Francesco Malipiero

Number of Discs: 3

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.