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The Late Quartets, Vol. 2 - Beethoven Op. 130 & 133; Shostakovich Op. 133 on CD

Alma Quartet continues it's ambitious Late Quartets series by bringing together two extraordinary works that share more than the same opus number. Beethoven's String Quartet No. 13, Op. 130, with the monumental Grosse Fuge, Op. 133, travels from dark humour and gentle melancholy to the profoundly moving Cavatina and a finale that was so radical in 1826 that audiences struggled to comprehend it. Nearly two centuries later, the Grosse Fuge still sounds astonishingly modern -  music Stravinsky famously considered 'contemporary forever."

Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 12, Op. 133 forms a fascinating counterpart. Built around a twelve-tone series, it transforms an ostensibly modernist technique into music that is lyrical, emotional and surprisingly accessible. It's expansive second movement moves from fierce virtuosity and almost symphonic intensity towards a visceral, liberating conclusion. In Alma Quartet's hands, these two Opus 133 worlds become part of a larger conversation across time -  the second installment of their multi-year project pairing the late quartets of Beethoven and Shostakovich.