This recording is devoted to two major genres of string literature: Solo and Chamber music. Joseph Haydn wrote 68 string quartets and he is considered to be the Founder of the Classical String Quartet. His “Lark” Quartet, Op. 64, No. 5 is one of my favorites. It possesses the most beautiful melodies throughout the work and sets a sunny mood from beginning to end.
The various epithets bestowed upon Nikolai Lopatnikoff (1903 – 1976): Russian Composer, Russo-Estonian composer, Russo-Finnish, German-Russian composer demonstrates the peripatetic life forced upon him by political turmoil and national upheavals. His Fantasia Concertante for Violin and Piano is his major violin work full of brooding mood and toccata like rhythm which prevails throughout the piece. This CD also includes two other major masterpieces which are “Much Ado About Nothing” by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and “Rhapsody No. 1” by Bela Bartok.
