Album review: Ludwig Van Beethoven, String Quintets, Op 29 and 104

Published on Tuesday 1 February 2011 13:39

CLASSICAL LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN String Quintets, Op 29 and 104 HHHHH Naxos 8.572221, £5.99

In 1802, Ludwig van Beethoven was probably the pre-eminent composer in Europe. It didn't really seem to matter: the social isolation caused by Beethoven's increasing deafness was to be matched the following year by emotional isolation after the woman he hoped to marry went on to marry someone else instead.

At the same time, he was writing what is often regarded as "happy" music: his Second Symphony, and violin and piano sonatas among other works. Beethoven's 1802 String Quintet in C major, Op 29 suggests otherwise: there's much debate and argument between instruments in this work, as the Fine Arts Quartet with Gil Sharon demonstrate with skill and dash.

The accompanying Op 104 Quintet stems from an 1817 amateur transcription of a work from more than 20 years before: here the happiness is more apparent. Striking music, eloquently played.

Download this: String Quartet in C major, Scherzo: Allegro