Edvard Grieg; Amanda Maier; Julius Röntgen - String Quartets (Zilliacus Quartet)

Information

Composer: Edvard Grieg; Amanda Maier; Julius Röntgen

• Grieg - String Quartet No. 2 in F Major
• Maier - String Quartet in A Major
• Röntgen - String Quartet No. 12 in G-Sharp Minor

Zilliacus Quartet

    Cecilia Zilliacus, violin

    Julia-Maria Kretz, violin

    Ylvali McTigert Zilliacus, viola

    Kati Raitinen, cello

Date: 2023

Label: dB Productions

-----------------------------------------------------------

Review

This is a fascinating release of interconnected composers. Edvard Grieg was a close family friend of the Rontgens — Julius and his wife Amanda Maier. Rontgen would eventually publish a biography of his friend in 1930. And he did more than that.

Grieg had started a string quartet in 1891 and set it aside. He had completed only the first two movements. Rontgen. Rontgen composed two final movements based on Grieg’s notes and sketches. 

The completed quartet was performed in the Rontgen home with an all-star lineup. Harold Bauer played the first violin. Pablo Casals played the second violin and his wife played the cello. Julius Rontgen played the viola. His second wife, Abrahamina, was the sole audience member. 

The Grieg/Rontgen quartet was then put aside. It receives its world recording premiere here.

Rontgen’s first wife, Amanda Maier was an accomplished violinist and a skilled composer. Her early death at age 41 left her own string quartet unfinished. It would remain so until 2018.  That’s when Swedish conductor and composer Bengt Tommy Andersson completed it.

Rounding out the release is Rontgen’s own work, his String Quartet No. 12.

Violinist Cecilia Zilliacus has recorded several of Maier’s works. And she’s specialized in Scandinavian string music. She has a deep understanding of this music.

And that understanding comes through in this recording. The Zilliacus Quartet has a warm, clear ensemble sound. They bring out the emotional content of this music, but never to excess. 

Instead, we’re treated to some exciting, well-executed quartet playing. And that playing breathes life into these works. The origins of the music don’t matter. The Grieg/Rontgen and Maier/Andersson quartets sound like seamless and organic masterpieces.

— Ralph Graves

-----------------------------------------------------------

Edvard Grieg (15 June 1843 – 4 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire. His use of Norwegian folk music in his own compositions brought the music of Norway to fame, as well as helping to develop a national identity. Grieg's music is noted for a refined lyrical sense. His best known works include ten collections of Lyric Pieces for solo piano, the Piano Concerto in A minor (Op. 16), the incidental music to Peer Gynt (Op. 23), the suite Holberg (Op. 40), and arrangements of Norwegian dances and songs.

***

Amanda Maier (20 February 1853 – 15 July 1894) was a Swedish violinist and composer. She was the first woman to graduate in music direction from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm in 1872. She studied under prominent musicians like Carl Reinecke and composed several major works, including a violin sonata, a piano trio, and a violin concerto. In Leipzig, she met and later married German-Dutch composer Julius Röntgen. Together, they hosted musical salons and performances across Europe. Maier continued composing despite illness, but in 1887 she was diagnosed with tuberculosis and died in Amsterdam in 1894.

***

Julius Röntgen (9 May 1855 – 13 September 1932) was a German-Dutch composer and teacher. Privately educated, he began composing at age eight and studied under prominent musicians like Ferdinand David, Carl Reinecke and Franz Lachner. A meeting with Brahms in 1874 had a decisive influence on his compositional style. Settling in Amsterdam in 1877, Röntgen co-founded the Amsterdam Conservatory and helped establish the Concertgebouw building. He composed over 650 works in almost every genre, evolving from Romanticism to modern experimentation. His first wife was Swedish composer Amanda Maier.

***

Cecilia Zilliacus (born 22 September 1972) is a Finnish-Swedish violinist. She received her education in Stockholm, Sweden and in Cologne, Germany. As a soloist, Zilliacus has performed with most Swedish, as well as many Nordic and European symphony orchestras, and has released multiple award-winning recordings. She directs the Katrina Chamber Music and Korsholm Music Festival and is part of the acclaimed ZilliacusPerssonRaitinen trio and the Zilliacus Quartet. A professor at Stockholm's Royal College of Music, she plays a Nicola Gagliano violin and is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.

-----------------------------------------------------------