This 10-CD set is a reissue of an award-winning recording of the complete Beethoven String Quartets made by the distinguished Gewandhaus-Quartett in 2008. It includes a bonus CD-Rom which features interviews with former members and historic recordings of some of its previous work, as well as a new booklet with extensive text about the music and the quartet. In 2008 the Gewandhaus-Quartett celebrated its 200th anniversary and is the world's oldest ensemble of its type.
The Leipzig Gewandhaus-Quartett has a remarkable position in the history of western music as the oldest string quartet in the world. Shortly after its foundation in 1808 by the former leader of the Gewandhaus Orchestra Heinrich August Matthäi the ensemble, whose chamber music concerts immediately attracted a lively response from the public, established itself as a permanent part of the Leipzig concert scene. During its history the ensemble has played with such important composers and musicians as Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Edvard Grieg and Arthur Nikisch. This tradition is still kept alive today, and the Gewandhaus-Quartett works regularly with internationally renowned artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Menahem Pressler, and Sabine Meyer.
Personnel: Gewandhaus-Quartett
