MAX BRUCH (1838-1920)
String Quartets No. 1 & 2

From an early age Max Bruch had enjoyed the ideal conditions for becoming a composer: his family had considerable cultural awareness and gave him all the support he needed. He had already composed not only a (lost) symphony but a significant proportion of his chamber music while still a student. The two youthful String Quartets Op.9 in C minor and Op.10 in E major show a Romantic exuberance poured into classic and classical moulds.
The members of the ISOS Quartet — Isabelle van Keulen, Katharine Gowers, Vladimir Mendelssohn and Imke Frank — know each other from several important summer festivals as Lockenhaus and Kuhmo. As their CD debut, they recorded both string quartets by Max Bruch exclusively for Koch International Schwann.

String Quartet in C minor, Op.9
1. I. Adagio. Allegro ma non troppo [10'39]
2. II. Adagio [5'28]
3. III. Allegro molto energico [3'56]
4. IV. Molto vivace [4'52]
String Quartet in E major, Op.10
5. I. Allegro maestoso [11'42]
6. II. Andante quasi Adagio [4'52]
7. III. Vivace ma non troppo [5'02]
8. IV. Finale Vivace [6'11]
TT: 52'50

ISOS Quartet:
Isabelle van Keulen, first violin
Katharine Gowers, second violin
Vladimir Mendelssohn, viola
Imke Frank, cello

Recorded: January, 1997, Immanuelskirche Wuppertal
A co-production with Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln
Executive Producer: Hans Winking
Recording Supervisor: Günther Wollersheim
Balance Engineer: Georg Litzinger
® & © 1997 KOCH International GmbH/Schwann
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