Saint-Saëns Quatuors à Cordes

Description

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921): String Quartet No. 1 in E minor Op. 112, String Quartet No. 2 in G Major Op. 153 The Tchalik Quartet records both of Saint-Saëns' Quartets. French music suits the Tchalik Quartet! After a Reynaldo Hahn album that was unanimously praised by critics, the performers are ready for the centenary of Camille Saint-Saëns' passing with the two string quartets, Op. 112 & 153; a recording that once again eloquently illustrates the mastery and maturity of the four young musicians. "One can only write a string quartet at twenty, when one has the ignorance and boldness of youth, or at sixty, when one possesses consummate experience and knows everything about one's art," said Saint-Saëns. The composer of The Carnival of the Animals waited for full maturity to confront the supreme form of chamber music, as his two quartets were born in 1899 and 1918, respectively. Less known than those of other French composers, these works are nonetheless among the chamber music masterpieces of the era. The public and commentators were not mistaken, as they gave a magnificent reception to the 1st Quartet in which the composer, reconnecting with the classical aesthetic of the "brilliant quartet," managed to find an original and personal path between the memory of the Beethovenian model and the Franckist aesthetic. Commitment, shimmering lyricism, sense of architecture: the bows of the Tchalik Quartet bring together all the qualities required by Opus 112 and achieve a version that promises to be significant. One cannot resist the spirit of the 2nd Quartet; at the end of his long life, Saint-Saëns reconnects with the spirit of the 18th century and shows a finesse and spirit that the Tchalik Quartet conveys with both freshness and stylish complicity. A highlight of the Tchalik Quartet's return, the release of the Saint-Saëns CD is part of a late 2021 that will lead the ensemble to perform at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on November 7, alongside Edgar Moreau.