Fine Arts Quartet Mozart/Schubert Album on list of Top 100 recordings since 1948

List of 100 Greatest Albums from 1948

by Erica Henderson, March 9, 2023, in Best Songs Guide

https://singersroom.com/top-100-best-albums-from-1948/

Quartet No. 14 “Death and the Maiden” – Franz Schubert / Fine Arts Quartet

The Fine Arts Quartet’s performance of Franz Schubert’s Quartet No. 14, also known as “Death and the Maiden,” is a powerful and moving interpretation of this masterpiece of chamber music.

Composed in 1824, “Death and the Maiden” is a haunting work that reflects Schubert’s preoccupation with mortality. The Fine Arts Quartet captures the dark, brooding atmosphere of the piece with a performance that is both technically precise and emotionally charged.

The Quartet’s interpretation of the opening movement is particularly impressive, with the musicians building tension and intensity to create a sense of foreboding. The second movement, which features the famous “Death and the Maiden” theme, is achingly beautiful, with the quartet’s rich, sonorous sound bringing out the full emotional weight of the music.

The third and fourth movements are equally compelling, with the quartet navigating the complex harmonies and intricate rhythms of Schubert’s score with skill and sensitivity. The musicians of the Fine Arts Quartet play with a deep understanding of the music and a genuine love for the piece, resulting in a performance that is both technically impressive and deeply moving.

Overall, this album is a must-listen for fans of chamber music and Schubert in particular. The Fine Arts Quartet’s performance of “Death and the Maiden” is a tour de force that showcases the power and beauty of this remarkable work."

NAXOS NEWS - IN THE STUDIO: THE FINE ARTS QUARTET RECORDS RARELY PERFORMED WILD EARLY DVORAK STRING QUARTET

IN THE STUDIO: THE FINE ARTS QUARTET RECORDS RARELY PERFORMED WILD EARLY DVORAK STRING QUARTET December 22, 2022

https://www.naxos.com/News/Detail/?title=In_the_Studio_The_Fine_Arts_Quartet_records_rarely_performed_wild_early_Dvorak_string_quartet

The Fine Arts Quartet has just completed its 21st production for the Naxos label. The all-Dvořák programme has as its centrepiece one of his rarely performed, complex and wild early string quartets, No. 2 in B Flat major (B.17) from 1868–69. This performance is complemented by the composer’s enchanting Bagatelles, Op. 47 (with harmonium!) and Rondo, Op. 94. The recording, produced and engineered by Phillip Schulz, is scheduled for release in 2023.

The internationally renowned Fine Arts Quartet (violinists Ralph Evans and Efim Boico, violist Gil Sharon, cellist Niklas Schmidt), was founded in Chicago in 1946. This year, the Quartet celebrates its 76th anniversary (and Ralph Evans’ 40th anniversary with the ensemble) and continues to live up to its reputation as “one of the gold-plated names in chamber music.” (Washington Post)

The ensemble made its first recording for Naxos in 2006. Featuring Robert Schumann’s 3 String Quartets, Op. 41, it received the American Record Guide’s Critics’ Choice Award and was described as “One of the very finest chamber-music recordings of the year.” From that auspicious beginning, a happy association between artists and label has continued to produce a steady stream of acclaimed performances of eclectic chamber works.

All-Dvořák Programme String Quartet No. 2 in B flat major, B.17 Maličkosti (Bagatelles), Op. 47 for 2 violins, cello, and harmonium Rondo in G minor, Op. 94 for cello and piano

Artists Fine Arts Quartet (Ralph Evans & Efim Boico, violins; Gil Sharon, viola; Niklas Schmidt, cello); Ryoko Morooka (harmonium); Stepan Simonian (piano)

Recording sessions Germany: Die Abteikirche Marienmünster (20th–21st December 2022) / Forum der Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Hamburg (7th March 2020 & 20th September 2021)

NAXOS NEWS - IN THE STUDIO: FINE ARTS QUARTET RECORDS ENESCU

https://www.naxos.com/News/Detail/?title=In_the_Studio_Fine_Arts_Quartet_records_Enescu

IN THE STUDIO: FINE ARTS QUARTET RECORDS ENESCU November 03, 2022

The Fine Arts Quartet, along with pianists Fabio and Gisele Witkowski and bassist Alexander Bickard, just recorded rare, early chamber music by the celebrated Romanian composer George Enescu. The album will include a recording of Enescu’s superb, precocious Piano Quintet in D, written at the age of 15. Produced and engineered by multiple GRAMMY Award-winner Steven Epstein, this album is scheduled for release in August 2023, in time for the International Enescu Festival in September.

The internationally renowned Fine Arts Quartet (violinists Ralph Evans and Efim Boico, violist Gil Sharon, cellist Niklas Schmidt), was founded in Chicago in 1946. This year, the quartet celebrates its 76th anniversary (and Ralph Evans’ 40th anniversary with the ensemble) and continues to live up to its reputation as “one of the gold-plated names in chamber music.” (Washington Post)

The ensemble made its first recording for Naxos in 2006. Featuring Robert Schumann’s 3 String Quartets, Op. 41, it received the American Record Guide’s Critics’ Choice Award and was described as “One of the very finest chamber music recordings of the year.” From that auspicious beginning, a happy association between artists and label has continued to produce a steady stream of acclaimed performances of eclectic chamber works. This recording will be the ensemble’s 20th on the Naxos label.

The recording sessions took place 23–25 October 2022 at the Kathryn M. Elfers Hall of the Esther Eastman Center at the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, USA.

Album Programme:

ENESCU, George: Youthful Chamber Music Treasures 1896–1901 Piano Quintet (1896) Prélude and Gavotte for two pianos, violin and cello (1898) Aubade, (1899), Trio for violin, viola and cello Pastorale, Menuet Triste et Nocturne (1900), for violin and piano, four hands Romanian Rhapsody No.1 (1901) for piano quintet plus string bass (chamber version arranged by Jacques Enoch

IN THE STUDIO: ALON GOLDSTEIN JOINS THE FINE ARTS QUARTET IN RARE MOZART PIANO CONCERTO TRANSCRIPTIONS FOR CHAMBER ENSEMBLE August 10, 2022

Pianist Alon Goldstein, the Fine Arts Quartet and bassist Lizzie Burns recently recorded rare 19th-century chamber versions of Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 19 and 25. The works’ original orchestral parts were arranged for string quartet and double bass by the 19th-century German composer/conductor Ignaz Lachner. This is the fourth in their series of such transcriptions for Naxos, with previous albums having featured Nos. 20 and 21 (8.573398), Nos. 23 and 24 (8.573736) and Nos. 9 and 17 (8.574164). Produced and engineered once again by multiple GRAMMY Award winner Steven Epstein, the latest album is scheduled for release in 2023.

The internationally renowned Fine Arts Quartet (violinists Ralph Evans and Efim Boico, violist Gil Sharon, cellist Niklas Schmidt), was founded in Chicago in 1946. This year, the quartet celebrates its 76th anniversary (and Ralph Evans’ 40th anniversary with the ensemble) and continues to live up to its reputation as “one of the gold-plated names in chamber music.” (Washington Post)

The ensemble made its first recording for Naxos in 2006. Featuring Robert Schumann’s 3 String Quartets, Op. 41, it received the American Record Guide’s Critics’ Choice Award and was described as “One of the very finest chamber-music recordings of the year.” From that auspicious beginning, a happy association between artists and label has continued to produce a steady stream of acclaimed performances of eclectic chamber works. This latest release is the ensemble’s nineteenth on the Naxos label.

The recording sessions took place on 20 and 21 July 2022 at the Dorothy Young Center for the Arts at Drew University.

FINE ARTS QUARTET RECORDS RARE DVORAK

FROM NAXOS NEWS

In the Studio: The Fine Arts Quartet records rare Dvorak December 9, 2019

Recording sessions for the Fine Arts Quartet’s 18th Naxos production took place in Germany at the Andreaskirche, Berlin-Wannsee from 25 to 28 November 2019. The all-Dvořák programme has as its centrepiece one of his rarely performed, complex and wild early string quartets, No. 4 in E minor (B.19). This is complemented by the composer’s enchanting String Sextet Op. 48, in which the members of the quartet are joined by guest violist Anna-Kreeta Gribajcevic and guest cellist Jens Peter Maintz. The recording, produced and engineered by Phillip Schulz, is scheduled for release in 2020.

Founded in Chicago in 1946, the internationally renowned Fine Arts Quartet (violinists Ralph Evans and Efim Boico, violist Gil Sharon, cellist Niklas Schmidt) celebrated its 73rd anniversary this year, continuing to live up to its reputation as “One of the gold-plated names in chamber music.” (Washington Post)

The ensemble made its first recording for Naxos in 2006. Featuring Robert Schumann’s 3 String Quartets, Op. 41, it received the American Record Guide’s Critics’ Choice Award and was described as “One of the very finest chamber-music recordings of the year.” From that auspicious beginning, a happy association between artists and label has continued to produce a steady stream of acclaimed performances of eclectic chamber works.

Fine Arts Quartet Backgroud & Discography

Antonín Dvořák Biography & Discography

FINE ARTS QUARTET RECORDS RARE MOZART

From Naxos News

In the Studio: Alon Goldstein and the Fine Arts Quartet record Mozart Piano Concertos in rare transcriptions August 1, 2019

Members of the Fine Arts Quartet teamed up once again with pianist Alon Goldstein and bassist Alexander Bickard for a recording of rare 19th-century chamber versions of Mozart’s Piano Concertos, this time of Nos. 9 and 17. This is the third in their series for Naxos; the first two comprised Concertos Nos. 20 and 21 (8.573398) and Nos. 23 and 24 (8.573736). Alon Goldstein is one of the most original and sensitive pianists of his generation, admired for his musical intelligence and dynamic personality. Scheduled for release in 2020, this latest recording was again produced and engineered by multiple GRAMMY-Award winner Steven Epstein.

The internationally renowned Fine Arts Quartet (violinists Ralph Evans and Efim Boico, violist Gil Sharon, cellist Niklas Schmidt), was founded in Chicago in 1946. This year, the Quartet celebrates its 73rd anniversary and continues to live up to its reputation as “one of the gold-plated names in chamber music.” (Washington Post)

This latest project for Naxos, their seventeenth release for the label, features seldom heard chamber transcriptions of two of Mozart’s magnificent piano concertos, K. 271 and K. 453. The orchestral parts were arranged for string quartet and double bass by the 19th-century German composer and conductor Ignaz Lachner.

Naxos is delighted to have been associated with the Fine Arts Quartet since 2006, when the ensemble made its first release for the label, a recording of Robert Schumann’s Three String Quartets, Op. 41. It received the American Record Guide’s Critic’s Choice award and was described as “one of the very finest chamber-music recordings of the year.”

From that auspicious beginning, a happy association between artists and label has continued with a steady stream of acclaimed performances of eclectic chamber works. December 2019 will see their next release that features Beethoven’s monumental Grosse Fuge and a collection of rareties: the brilliant but forgotten original versions of his quartets Op. 18 No. 1 and Op. 131; plus several miniatures, including his virtually unknown Preludes and Fugues.

The Fine Arts Quartet (Ralph Evans, Efim Boico, Gil Sharon, Niklas Schmidt) joined by Alon Goldstein & Alexander Bickard The recording sessions took place July 28–30, 2019 at the Dorothy Young Center for the Arts at Drew University, New Jersey in the US.

Fine Arts Quartet Background & Discography

FINE ARTS QUARTET RECORDS BEETHOVEN QUARTETS

FROM NAXOS NEWS

In the Studio: The Fine Arts Quartet records Beethoven

Recording sessions for The Fine Arts Quartet’s sixteenth Naxos production took place in Germany at the Christuskirche, Berlin-Oberschöneweide from 26 to 29 November 2018. The all-Beethoven programme, scheduled for release in 2019, has the monumental Grosse Fuge as its centrepiece, complemented by an intriguing group of rarities: Beethoven’s brilliant, yet forgotten original versions of his quartets Op. 18, No. 1 and Op. 131, plus a number of miniatures, including his virtually unknown Preludes and Fugues.

Founded in Chicago in 1946, the internationally renowned Fine Arts Quartet (violinists Ralph Evans and Efim Boico, violist Gil Sharon, cellist Niklas Schmidt) celebrated its 72nd anniversary this year, continuing to live up to its reputation as “One of the gold-plated names in chamber music.” (Washington Post)

The ensemble made its first recording for Naxos in 2006. Featuring Robert Schumann’s 3 String Quartets, Op. 41, it received the American Record Guide’s “Critic’s Choice” award and was described as “One of the very finest chamber-music recordings of the year.” From that auspicious beginning, a happy association between artists and label has continued to produce a steady stream of acclaimed performances of eclectic chamber works.

Fine Arts Quartet background and Naxos discography

Fine Arts Quartet Announces New Members

Hilda Woolf, manager of the Fine Arts Quartet in France and the UK, issued the following announcement in 2017:

"It is a great pleasure to announce that the renowned Fine Arts Quartet (FAQ), one of the world's most enduring and recorded quartets, will soon be joined by two exceptional and experienced chamber musicians: violist Gil Sharon (Amati Ensemble) and cellist Niklas Schmidt (Trio Fontenay). As the legendary FAQ celebrates its 72nd anniversary, violinists Ralph Evans and Efim Boico, who have performed together for 35 years, are thrilled to welcome such dedicated and accomplished artists who have been frequent guest artists with the FAQ over the years. Upcoming events with the new members include a European tour in the summer of 2018, concerts at the San Miguel de Allende Festival in Mexico and International Mendelssohn Festival in Hamburg, and a new recording, the Quartet's 16th for the Naxos label. The FAQ has recorded over 200 works, with their latest, a recording of Mozart, due to be released by Naxos in September, 2018."

Fine Arts Quartet in 72nd season

 

The Strad: Two new members among big changes for Fine Arts Quartet in 72nd season

"The Fine Arts Quartet is drawing to the end of a 55-year residency at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, with its final concerts as part of the arrangement taking place at the Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts on 27 and 28 January.

At the same juncture, its current violist Juan-Miguel Hernandez and cellist Robert Cohen will be leaving the group, and will be replaced by Gil Sharon and Niklas Schmidt respectively. ‘As the legendary FAQ celebrates its 72nd anniversary, violinists Ralph Evans and Efim Boico, who have performed together for 35 years, are thrilled by the incoming new members’ positive energy, enthusiasm, and dedication,’ the quartet’s management told The Strad.

The incoming musicians are both experienced chamber specialists: Gil Sharon, as a violinist, founded and lead the Sharon Quartet and Netherlands-based Amati Ensemble, while Niklas Schmidt was a founder member of the Trio Fontenay.

Ralph Evans is only the second leader in the Fine Arts Quartet’s history..."

Read more at thestrad.com

 

Mozart Piano Concertos CD released

Naxos releases Mozart's two most famous Piano Concertos with pianist Alon Goldstein, the Fine Arts Quartet and Rachel Calin.

To make Mozart’s Piano Concertos K. 466 and K. 467 more accessible to the public, the 19th-century composer Ignaz Lachner left the piano parts untouched and made splendid transcriptions of the orchestra parts for just string quartet with added bass. These chamber versions of two of Mozart’s greatest and most popular concertos sound almost as natural as if Mozart had transcribed them himself.

Standing ovation at the Kennedy Centre

in

The Fine Arts Quartet receives a standing ovation at their sell-out performance on December 11th. "...a powerhouse of American chamber music..." the Washington Post reported, going on to say "The Fine Arts Quartet turned in a superb and absolutely impassioned performance — a seamless and astute reading from its slashing opening chords to its galloping, heart-racing finale."