COMPOSERS: Tobias
LABELS: BIS
WORKS: String Quartet No. 1 in D minor; String Quartet No. 2 in C minor
PERFORMER: Tallinn String Quartet
CATALOGUE NO: CD-704
Rudolf Tobias (1873-1918) studied under Rimsky-Korsakov before becoming Estonia’s first significant composer. Though I had heard his graduation piece, the concert overture Julius Caesar (1896), these quartets came as a revelation. The First, publicly premiered in June 1992 by the Tallinn Quartet, is an epic of rare substance and charm, while its successor displays a Beethovenian resilience and monumentality. ‘In aspiration for great things lies satisfaction’, wrote Tobias at the head of the manuscript; one can only conclude that his ideals would have been brilliantly vindicated by these polished and eloquent accounts. Another major discovery from BIS and, as usual, magnificently recorded. Michael Jameson
Tobias: String Quartet No. 1 in D minor; String Quartet No. 2 in C minor
Rudolf Tobias (1873-1918) studied under Rimsky-Korsakov before becoming Estonia’s first significant composer. Though I had heard his graduation piece, the concert overture Julius Caesar (1896), these quartets came as a revelation. The First, publicly premiered in June 1992 by the Tallinn Quartet, is an epic of rare substance and charm, while its successor displays a Beethovenian resilience and monumentality.
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:39 pm