Louis Spohr: Quartets Volume 15 (Marco Polo Audio CD)  

Moscow Concertino/New Budapest
String Quartets Nos. 19 & 22

Spohr was a prolific quartet composer, his body of work forming an important collection. His Quartet No.
19 is the fourth of his Quatuors brillants, chamber concertos designed to allow the first violinist, Spohr
himself, to flaunt his virtuoso credentials. He ensures, however, that flourish is balanced by expressive
themes and songful warmth. Quartet No. 22 is one of his greatest compositions, notable not only for
its broad, sweeping, even sensual themes tinged with pathos, but for the masterful use of counterpoint
and virtuoso elements within a magnificently unified whole. The American Record Guide wrote of the
Concertino String Quartet’s recording of Nos. 9 and 17: ‘Their tuning, intonation, technique, ensemble,
sensitivity, and depth of expression result in total musicality.’