The quartet in a minor is one of the chamber music works with which Schubert wanted to 'pave the way to the great symphony? in spring 1824. At the same time he was paving his way to a wider audience, as the 'Rosamunde? Quartet was the first and only string quartet that was not only publicly performed in Schubert's lifetime but also published in parts. It is fortunate for us that this was the case because the autograph of this much-loved quartet is missing today and the only source for the work is the first edition. And this is precisely where the challenge lies, as the parts exhibit some inaccuracies regarding the articulation and dynamics. They have had to be carefully resolved, something which our new Urtext edition has done in an exemplary fashion. Its name can be traced back to Schubert's incidental music to the play Rosamunde, which can be heard at the beginning of the Andante. Quite a few people might, however, be reminded of the Impromptu in B flat major op. post. 142 #3, in which Schubert later once again took up the beautiful melody. / 2 Violons, Alto Et Violoncelle

Impressions On Beethoven's Harp Quartet. Par AMANTI LUCIO. When Cuarteto Casals approached me with the idea of illuminating Beethoven´s quartets anew, you can imagine the many thoughts and feelings that where going through my mind: what a joy, what a great honor… What an intriguing head-scratcher! How can you possibly shine a new light on something that is already perfect? Weeks, months went by in search of a common ground between the Master and myself until I finally found it in the realization that a word lays “hidden” in the St. John’s hymn that gave musical notes their original name: ‘Re, Sol, Ut, Io’ (D, G, C, B in English music notation) Perfect! “Resolutio” in Latin means both the resolution of a problem and the re-solution: a re-blend of many elements that will eventually coagulate to make something new. There was finally the melodic and a rhythmical canvas for my piece. On this canvas I wrote the story of a funny little contest, played on a sunny Mediterranean square, between street musicians and Cuarteto Casals just minutes before they are about to go on stage to perform Beethoven´s “Harp Quartet”. After all the characters, each in his own way, had the chance to tell their story, a gentle rain starts to fall, dissolving (Re-solving) again the music sheet to eventually leave us with just a white piece of paper for somebody else to continue the Work. (Lucio Franco Amanti) / Niveau : Avancé / Répertoire / 2 Violons, Alto et Violoncelle