What composer hasn't had Beethoven's quartets on his bedside table? “Before starting to work on String Quartet No. 1 in B minor, I studied Beethoven's quartets,” explains Prokofiev. While staying in the United States in 1930, he responded to a commission from the Library of Congress in Washington, and wrote a vast and expressive piece, deep, intense, like Beethoven's Quartet opus 59 n°1 dedicated "to his Excellency the Count of Razumovsky". In homage to the Russian diplomat, his patron, he incorporated popular themes into a work that was too innovative for the time. In response to reproaches, Beethoven has this mythical phrase: "It's not for you!" This is for times to come. »
Nothing too difficult for the Quatuor Belcea, an essential chamber music ensemble from London, which magnifies these two works.
