Beethoven: The String Quartets, Live from Suntory Hall, Tokyo, Vol. 3 Kuss Quartet

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): String Quartet No. 12, Op. 127:
• 1 String Quartet No. 12, Op. 127: I. Maestoso. Allegro (Live) 06:49
• 2 String Quartet No. 12, Op. 127: II. Adagio ma non troppo e molto cantabile (Live) 15:32
• 3 String Quartet No. 12, Op. 127: III. Scherzo. Vivace (Live) 07:23
• 4 String Quartet No. 12, Op. 127: IV. Allegro – Allegro comodo (Live) 07:29
• String Quartet No. 15, Op. 132:
• 5 String Quartet No. 15, Op. 132: I. Assai sostenuto (Live) 09:57
• 6 String Quartet No. 15, Op. 132: II. Allegro ma non tanto (Live) 07:50
• 7 String Quartet No. 15, Op. 132: III. Molto adagio. Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit, in der lydischen Tonart (Live) 15:07
• 8 String Quartet No. 15, Op. 132: IV. Alla marcia, assai vivace (Live) 02:10
• 9 String Quartet No. 15, Op. 132: V. Allegro appassionato (Live) 07:11
• String Quartet No. 13, Op. 130
• 10 String Quartet No. 13, Op. 130: I. Adagio ma non troppo. Allegro (Live) 09:41
• 11 String Quartet No. 13, Op. 130: II. Presto (Live) 02:01
• 12 String Quartet No. 13, Op. 130: III. Poco scherzoso. Andante con moto ma non troppo (Live) 07:13
• 13 String Quartet No. 13, Op. 130: IV. Alla Danza tedesca. Allegro assai (Live) 03:21
• 14 String Quartet No. 13, Op. 130: V. Catavina. Adagio molto espressivo (Live) 06:41
• Ludwig van Beethoven:
• 15 Große Fuge, Op. 133 (Original Finale to Op. 130) (Live) 15:48
• String Quartet No. 14, Op. 131:
• 16 String Quartet No. 14, Op. 131: I. Adagio ma non troppo e molto espresso (Live) 08:09
• 17 String Quartet No. 14, Op. 131: II. Allegro molto vivace (Live) 03:07
• 18 String Quartet No. 14, Op. 131: III. Allegro moderato (Live) 00:52
• 19 String Quartet No. 14, Op. 131: IV. Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile (Live) 13:52
• 20 String Quartet No. 14, Op. 131: V. Presto (Live) 05:15
• 21 String Quartet No. 14, Op. 131: VI. Adagio quasi un poco andante (Live) 02:12
• 22 String Quartet No. 14, Op. 131: VII. Allegro (Live) 06:56
• String Quartet No. 16, Op. 135:
• 23 String Quartet No. 16, Op. 135: I. Allegretto (Live) 06:46
• 24 String Quartet No. 16, Op. 135: II. Vivace (Live) 03:09
• 25 String Quartet No. 16, Op. 135: III. Assai lento, cantante e tranquillo (Live) 06:43
• 26 String Quartet No. 16, Op. 135: IV. Der schwer gefasste Entschluss. Grave, ma non toppo tratto (Muss es sein?). Allegro (Es muss sein!) (Live) 07:12
• Bruno Mantovani (b. 1974):
• 27 String Quartet No. 6 "Beethoveniana" (Live) 11:58
• Total Runtime 03:20:24

Info for Beethoven: The String Quartets, Live from Suntory Hall, Tokyo, Vol. 3

Recorded live in Tokyo’s Suntory Hall in the space of only three weeks, the acclaimed Kuss Quartet has recorded the complete Beethoven quartet cycle. The Beethoven quartets reflect the journey of the composer; starting with the Haydn and Mozart-influenced early works and tracing the mastery of his technique and style into the fully-fledged composer who today, now 250 years after his birth, still casts a colossal shadow of influence, occupying a special place in history reserved only for a select few genius. In a broader sense, the quartets encapsulate the multifaceted essence of humanity with all the sorrow, elation and unpredictability that comes with it. The Kuss Quartet brings a performance that is honest, powerful and provocative to match.

The release also features a contribution from French composer Bruno Mantovani who has written ‘Beethoveniana’ specially for the Kuss Quartet, it is based entirely on material from each Beethoven quartet.

Kuss Quartet

The Kuss Quartet
has been setting new standards for many years with its ambitious concept- based programming. Its mission is to offer unique experiences to traditional audiences and new listeners alike.

Leader Jana Kuss and second violinist Oliver Wille have been playing side by side for over 30 years. With great curiosity, they and their long-standing colleagues, William Coleman and Mikayel Hakhnazaryan, seek confirmation of the eternal “muss es sein?” of string quartet playing.

Thanks to a grant from the state of Lower Saxony and Musik 21, the quartet has been able to commission several new works in the last ten years, expanding the string quartet repertoire with compositions by Enno Poppe, Aribert Reimann, Manfred Trojahn, Bruno Mantovani, Iris ter Schiphorst Johannes Fischer and Mark Andre. This has attracted cooperations with the Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, Paris Biennale, the Wigmore Hall in London and Tokyo’s Suntory Hall. In the 23/24 season, Francisco Coll’s “Codices” will be premiered in Basel and receive further performances in Amsterdam, Berlin and Hanover.

The Kuss Quartett enjoys regular collaborations with musical partners including Miklós Perényi, Dénes Várjon, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Sarah Maria-Sun, Maurice Steger and Johannes Fischer.

The most recent album, “KRISE” (Crisis), was released in January 2023 and explores the subject of its title from different perspectives in both well-known quartet repertoire and specially commissioned works. The “KRISE” concert programme can be heard extensively in performance throughout the 23/24 season.

The cross-genre Beethoven programme “Force and Freedom” was developed together with director Nicola Hümpel and her music and dance theatre, “Nico and The Navigators”. Delayed by the pandemic, the world premiere took place in November 2021 at the Konzerthaus Dortmund and was subsequently performed at the Schwetzinger Festspiele and Radialsystem Berlin in 2022. The production was filmed by ARTE TV.

A further highly innovative project was “KUSS@KOKON”. During the Corona pandemic, an artist collective consisting of dancers Yui Kawaguchi and Ruben Reniers, percussionist Johannes Fischer and slam poet Bas Böttcher developed new modular concerts with the Kuss Quartet, assisted by a “Reload” grant from the German Federal Cultural Foundation. Free from inhibitions, the modules break the boundaries of these artistic fields and expand them into new forms.

At the beginning of its career, the quartet was awarded first prizes by the German Music Council and at the Borciani Competition. It also received a Borletti-Buitoni Award and was a “Rising Star” of the European Concert Hall Organisation. Today, the Kuss Quartet inspires the next generation in frequent master classes. William Coleman and Oliver Wille hold professorships in Salzburg and Hanover/Birmingham respectively, while Mikayel Hakhnazaryan teaches chamber music at the Hochschule in Karlsruhe and Jana Kuss at the Accademia Perosi in Biella (Italy).

Booklet for Beethoven: The String Quartets, Live from Suntory Hall, Tokyo, Vol. 3