CD 1:
String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13, MWV R 22
String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 44 No. 1, MWV R 30

CD 2:
String Quartet No. 4 in E minor, Op. 44 No. 2, MWV R 26

Following an exceptional critical reception of their first volume of Mendelssohn Quartets, the Doric String Quartet now completes the project. As in the case of the previous volume, the players juxtapose one of the early quartets (No. 2) with two of the later compositions (Nos 3 and 4), composed a decade or so later. Composed in 1827, the Second Quartet pays homage to Beethoven’s outstanding contribution to the genre (Beethoven died in March of that year), but this is no simple pastiche. It is a confident work, Mendelssohn’s individual voice already clearly present. The later quartets are perhaps less overtly revolutionary – Mendelssohn was now an established figure and a recipient of Royal commissions – but nevertheless remain clear milestones in the development of the genre.

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Recording: Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk; 5 and 6 September (Op. 44 No. 1) and 12 and 13 December (other works) 2020. Hélene Clément, the violist of the Doric String Quartet, plays an instrument made by Francesco Guissani from 1843.