Beethoven: Grosse Fuge

Hot on the heels of their ARIA-nominated recording of Mozart’s Last Symphonies, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Richard Tognetti showcase two works of genius by Beethoven and Bach. Recorded live in concert, these seminal works are given a new lease of life, opening up new soundworlds through the vitality and virtuosity for which the ACO has become globally renowned. Both Bach and Beethoven wrote these pieces towards the end of their lives. Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge was originally conceived as the final movement to his last string quartet; in it, the genre moves away from salon music into what Tognetti describes as “hyper-controlled cacophony, rousing responses ranging from rapture to despair”. This was too much for Beethoven’s contemporaries, and the quartet was soon given a more orthodox ending. In this album the Grosse Fuge is returned to its original place, and is presented in an arrangement for string orchestra by Tognetti which, in his words, is “careful not to exploit the greater dynamic capabilities at the expense of the innerlich heart of Beethoven’s uniquely powerful music”. Bach’s The Art of Fugue was left unfinished at his death, and is a work shrouded in mystery: it is unclear for what instrument it was originally written. A masterclass in the fugue – a form in which a single musical theme repeats and weaves around itself – the first four movements are presented here using strings, winds and even the voices of the orchestra to bring out the polyphonal parts whi

Tracks

1~1~Johann Sebastian Bach 16851750 - The Art Of Fugue, Bwv1080 (Selections): Contrapunctus I
1~2~Johann Sebastian Bach 16851750 - The Art Of Fugue, Bwv1080 (Selections): Contrapunctus Ii
1~3~Johann Sebastian Bach 16851750 - The Art Of Fugue, Bwv1080 (Selections): Contrapunctus Iii
1~4~Johann Sebastian Bach 16851750 - The Art Of Fugue, Bwv1080 (Selections): Contrapunctus Iv
1~5~Ludwig Van Beethoven 17701827 - String Quartet In B-Flat Major, Op. 130 (With Grosse Fuge, Op. 133): I. Adagio Ma Non Troppo Allegro
1~6~Ludwig Van Beethoven 17701827 - String Quartet In B-Flat Major, Op. 130 (With Grosse Fuge, Op. 133): Ii. Presto
1~7~Ludwig Van Beethoven 17701827 - String Quartet In B-Flat Major, Op. 130 (With Grosse Fuge, Op. 133): Iii. Andante Con Moto Ma Non Troppo (Poco Scherzoso)
1~8~Ludwig Van Beethoven 17701827 - String Quartet In B-Flat Major, Op. 130 (With Grosse Fuge, Op. 133): Iv. Alla Danza Tedesca: Allegro Assai
1~9~Ludwig Van Beethoven 17701827 - String Quartet In B-Flat Major, Op. 130 (With Grosse Fuge, Op. 133): V. Cavatina: Adagio Molto Espressivo
1~10~Ludwig Van Beethoven 17701827 - String Quartet In B-Flat Major, Op. 130 (With Grosse Fuge, Op. 133): Vi. Grosse Fuge

Details

Format: CD
Artist: Australian Chamber Orchestra
Release Date: 05 July 2021
Genre: Classical Music
Label: Abc Classic
Distributor: Rocket Group