Debussy & Rivier: String Quartets Mandelring Quartett

• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 10:
• 1 Debussy: String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 10: I. Animé et très Décidé 06:20
• 2 Debussy: String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 10: II. Assez vif et bien Rythmé 03:52
• 3 Debussy: String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 10: III. Andantino, doucement Expressif 06:37
• 4 Debussy: String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 10: IV. Très Modéré 07:27
• Jean Rivier (1896 - 1987): String Quartet No. 1:
• 5 Rivier: String Quartet No. 1: I. Andantino quasi Allegretto 07:07
• 6 Rivier: String Quartet No. 1: II. Assez vif et tres Rythmé 04:46
• 7 Rivier: String Quartet No. 1: III. Andante Espressivo 05:55
• 8 Rivier: String Quartet No. 1: IV. Allegro molto e Giocoso 06:00
• Jean Rivier: String Quartet No. 2 in F Major:
• 9 Rivier: String Quartet No. 2 in F Major: I. Moderato e Grazioso 05:51
• 10 Rivier: String Quartet No. 2 in F Major: II. Lento 07:20
• 11 Rivier: String Quartet No. 2 in F Major: III. Moderato. Allegro Molto 05:32
• Total Runtime 01:06:47

Info for Debussy & Rivier: String Quartets

The Mandelring Quartett's latest double release is dedicated to French repertoire. The first album, released in April 2021, presents Maurice Ravel's ground-breaking string quartet and the equally colourful one by his contemporary Fernand de La Tombelle. This second release juxtaposes Claude Debussy's quartet with Jean Rivier's two companion works rooted in neoclassicism - an exciting combination!

The immense variety of colours in Claude Debussy's opus 10 continues to fascinate to this day. Paul Dukas compared the unusual harmonies to a "splendid, artfully patterned tapestry"; chromaticisms and whole-tone scales, echoes of Javanese gamelan music, pizzicato and playing with mutes envelop the work in a shimmering cloak of sound.

This quartet repertoire "classic" is followed by a premiere recording of the first of Jean Rivier's two string quartets. The composer, born in 1896 and dying in 1987, led an inconspicuous life, "no scandals, no pompous titles", as a magazine article from 1972 put it. Perhaps that is why his name is largely unknown today, even though his compositions were successful early on. He wrote more than 200 works in almost all genres, and although he remained committed to a neoclassical aesthetic throughout his life, his oeuvre is extremely diverse and varied. This is also reflected in the two quartets written in 1924 and 1940. Rivier's works are characterised by a masterly sense of architecture and complex contrapuntal textures, rich in contrasts and strong emotions. According to the music commentator Paul Landormy, writing in 1943, "Jean Rivier enchants us, touches us, moves us [...]. Sometimes, however, he grips us hard, shakes us, oppresses us, and we are forced to yield to his almost tyrannical will. Let us not complain. No art will give us as much as that which so subdues us."

Mandelring Quartet

Mandelring Quartett
The Mandelring Quartet’s remarkable homogeneity of sound, intonation and phrasing has become its distinguishing characteristic; four individuals who play as one in their shared determination to always seek out the innermost core of the music and remain open to the musical truth. By grasping the spiritual dimension, exploring the emotional extremes and working on the details, these musicians probe far beneath the surface of each work, thus revealing the multiplicity of meanings inherent in each. Their approach to the music is always both emotional and personal. All this combines to make the Mandelring Quartet one of the most high-profile ensembles on the international chamber music scene.

As winners of several major international competitions – Munich (ARD), Evian and Reggio Emilia (Premio Paolo Borciani) – the Mandelring Quartet has emerged as one of the important string quartets of today, appearing at the world's great concert venues. In addition to numerous performances in Germany, the Mandelring Quartet's concert tours have taken them throughout Europe – Amsterdam, Brus­sels, London, Madrid, Paris and Vienna – annually to North America – New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Vancouver – to Japan – Osaka and Tokyo – Central and South America – Buenos Aires, Lima, Montevideo – the Middle East and Asia.

The Mandelring Quartet has enjoyed highly successful appearances at the Rheingau Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and other important international festivals such as Lockenhaus, Montpellier, Montreal, Ottawa, the Engadiner Konzertwochen in Switzerland and the Salzburg Festival, where they have been invited to present complete cycle of Shostakovich string quartets in summer 2011.

The Quartet's CD recordings have received numerous awards. Numbering more than two dozen, they include a Schubert string quartet cycle, piano quintets by Brahms and Franck and a series "Brahms and his Contemporaries", selected by the Strad Magazine as CD Of The Month saying: “Here the Mandelring combine the LaSalle Quartet’s intellectual vigor with the Amadeus’ unbridled passion to provide the best of both worlds.” Their recordings of the string quartets of Shostakovich have been hailed by the press as one of the outstanding complete recordings of our time. “The direct comparison I've done puts the Mandelring Quartet's cycle up with the best. If I were to shed all but two cycles, I would keep the Borodin cycle and the Mandelring Quartet.” (Fanfare). The CD with Schumann’s Piano Quartet and Piano Quintet has been praised as the new reference recording, and their recent disc of String Quartets by Leoš Janác(ek has received the German Record Critics' Prize.

The HAMBACHERMusikFEST, the quartet’s own festival, provides a meeting place each year for lovers of chamber music from all over the world. Since 2010 the Mandelring Quartet has presented a regular series of concerts at the Kammermusicsaal of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Booklet for Debussy & Rivier: String Quartets