String Quartet

SACD String Quartet Zemlinsky Quartet

In one word, Webern summed up the evolution of each of Zemlinsky's four quartets: "Aufbruch" (departure) corresponding to n°1, Op.4 and getting out from under Brahms's shadow; "Wende" (the turning point) for n°2, Op.15, an Expressionistic block of gigantic Mahlerian proportions and a single motto theme; "Reduktion" of the epic dimension but not of the burlesque, sardonic grin in n°3, Op.19; and "Maskenspiel" (mask game) for n°4, Op.25, a "lyric suite" in homage to Alban Berg, imbued with Schubertian clarity and transcended Classicism.