Credits:

Esme String Quartet

Description:

[Esmé String Quartet, 2nd from ALPHA] The Esmé String Quartet, formed at the Cologne College of Music in 2016, takes its name from an old French word meaning "to love". This quartet of four women from South Korea has received high acclaim in competitions throughout Europe, including winning four awards, including the first prize at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in 2018. 2022 saw the quartet make its first successful tour to Japan. In this, their second album, they perform Mozart's "Haydn Set" and Tchaikovsky's famous String Quartet No. 1 with "Dissonance" and "Andante Cantabile" in the second movement. In addition, Suyeong Ryu, a master of the haegeum (xiqin), the traditional Korean erhu, wrote "Yessori" for the Kronos Quartet in 2016 (You Tube has a performance of the haegeum played by Suyeong Ryu and the five members of the Kronos Quartet, but here The performance of "Yessori" (You Tube shows a performance by five members of the Hegem and Kronos Quartet played by Suyong Liu, but here is the string quartet version) is very interesting with high technique and sense of expression. This is an album that offers a taste of the wide-ranging expressiveness, power, and driving force of their music. Naxos Japan

Tracklisting:

1.String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K.465 'Dissonance Quartet'~I. Adagio - Allegro
2.String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K.465 'Dissonance Quartet'~II. Andante Cantabile (F Major)
3.String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K.465 'Dissonance Quartet'~III. Menuetto and Trio. Allegro
4.String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K.465 'Dissonance Quartet'~IV. Allegro
5.String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11~I. Moderato e Simplice
6.String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11~II. Andante Cantabile
7.String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11~III. Scherzo. Allegro non Tanto e con Fuoco
8.String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11~IV. Finale. Allegro Giusto
9.Yessori (Sound From the Past)