Raff / Mannheim String Quartet String Quartets Nos. 2 & 3 & 4 & 8 CD

Contemporaries of Joachim Raff (1822-82) valued him as an expert in the history of music and art and as a composer who knew how to produce richly colored instrumentations. Following releases of some of his symphonies and piano trios, cpo now turns to the composer's Second, Third, Fourth and Eighth String Quartets. In his ?middle quartets? the classicistic control of his music from those years makes itself manifest, i.e., interpretive markings in Italian, exposition repeats unmotivated by an increased degree of difficulty, a reduction in chromatics and a return to old dance forms.

1. Rasch, Jedoch Ruhig 2. Rasch 3. Langsam, Doch Nicht Schleppend 4. Rasch 5. Allegro 6. Allegro Con Moto 7. Andante Con Moto 8. Allegro Con Spirito 9. Allegro Patetico 10. Allegro, Non Troppo Vivo, Quasi Allegretto 11. Andante 12. Finale: Presto 13. Marsch: Allegro 14. Sarabande: Andante, Moderato Assai 15. Capriccio: Vivace 16. Arie (Doppelkanon): Quasi Larghetto 17. Gavotte Und Musette: Allegro 18. Menuett: Allegro Molto 19. Gigue: Allegro