Taurus Quartet - Slow (2024) [Official Digital Download]

In 2013, four renowned musicians from Belgium came together with a shared desire to to enrich their musical trajectory with the ultimate chamber music repertoire. Right from their first concert seasons, the Taurus Quartet has had the privilege of playing in wonderful concert venues and at prestigious festivals in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain and Finland. Several Taurus Quartet concerts have been recorded live by radio and television and broadcasted throughout Europe.

To celebrate their fifth anniversary, Taurus Quartet released its first two CDs in 2018 under the title Horizon funebre, featuring both string quartets by Janacek and the last two string quartets by Schubert. The recordings have received rave reviews from the international press.

In the 'Beethoven Year' 2020, the quartet gave several performances of the complete string quartets of Beethoven and also paid tribute to the 150th birthday of the Belgian composer Ryelandt.

The programme SLOW was created in 2022 at the request of The Concertgebouw Brugge and is a characteristic example of the quartet' s original and creative way of programming. This recording has been conceived as a true musical journey rather than a random assembly of separate tracks.

A SLOW Suite that caresses the soul, cuts deep into the mind and reveals precarious truths with agonising slowness. We also recorded the various movements in the same sequence as they appear here. By playing these slow movements in their new context, an inspiring artistic cross-pollination seemed to occur during our journey: the timelessly beautiful pieces of music influenced each other and their composers engaged each other in conversation across the centuries and with great mutual respect.

Composers: Anton Webern, Giacinto Scelsi, Guillaume De Machaut, György Kurtág, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Pierre de la Rue.

Tracklist:
01. String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135: III. Lento assai, Cantante e tranquillo (*)
02. Misa De Notre Dame: Kyrie I
03. String Quartet No. 3: I. Avec grande tendresse (Dolcissimo)
04. Missa L'homme armé: Agnus Dei
05. Microlude 5 from 12 Microludes for String Quartet, Op. 13: Lontano, Calmo, Appena sentito
06. String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2: II. Molto adagio, 'Si tratta questo pezzo con molto di sentimento'
07. Officium Breve in Memoriam Andrae Szervánsky, Op. 28: Arioso interrotto, Larghetto (*)
08. 5 Sätze für Streichquartett, Op. 5: II. Sehr langsam
09. 5 Sätze für Streichquartett, Op. 5: IV. Sehr langsam
10. 5 Sätze für Streichquartett, Op. 5: V. In zarter Bewegung
11. Officium Breve in Memoriam Andrae Szervánsky, Op. 28: Arioso interrotto, Larghetto
12. String Quartet No. 13 in Bb Major, Op. 130: V. Cavatina. Adagio molto espressivo
13. Microlude 11 from 12 Microludes for String Quartet, Op. 13: Tutti non vibrato e senza espressione
14. Misa de Notre Dame: Kyrie II
15. Aus der Ferne: V. Öd und traurig
16. String Quartet No. 3: V. Libération, Catharsis
17. String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135: III. Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo


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