Description

PAGANINI QUARTET

 

 

 

The Paganini Quartet was an American string quartet founded by cellist Robert Maas and violinist Henri Temianka in 1946. The quartet drew its name from the fact that all four of its instruments, made by Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737), had once been owned by the great Italian violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini (1782–1840).

In 1945, Maas, who had been with the Pro Arte Quartet until early in World War II and was interested in forming a new string quartet, secured a sponsorship from Anna Clark, the widow of copper millionaire William A. Clark. Maas happened upon four Paganini Strads at the shop of Emil Herrmann in New York, and mentioned them to Mrs. Clark, who promptly purchased the instruments for the quartet’s use. Meanwhile, another patron of chamber music, Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, had sponsored violinist Henri Temianka’s performance of the Beethoven violin sonata cycle at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., with pianist Leonard Shure, and she also expressed interest in the project. Gustave Rosseels, violin, and Robert Courte, viola, immediately accepted invitations to complete the ensemble. As detailed by authors Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr. in Empty Mansions, the story of the Clark family, the quartet often performed and practiced at the Clark home in Santa Barbara, Bellosguardo.

In 1946–47, the four played all the Beethoven string quartets at the Library of Congress; people began lining up at 5:00 a.m. to purchase tickets for the series, which was sold out in an hour. A recording contract with RCA Victor followed, and their rendition of the three Beethoven Opus 59 “Rasumovsky” quartets won the industry award for best recording in 1947.

The Quartet made its home in Los Angeles, California. During rehearsals, they usually spoke French. The story of how the Paganini Quartet came into being is told in Henri Temianka’s book Facing the Music.

During its 20-year international career, the Paganini Quartet concertized continuously in large cities and small towns throughout the United States, as well as in famous concert halls around the world. They made joint appearances with Arthur Rubinstein, Andrés Segovia, Claudio Arrau, and Gary Graffman. Their recordings included most of the Beethoven Quartets as well as those of Fauré, Verdi, Debussy, Ravel, and others (see Discography, below). They also played the world premieres of works by Darius Milhaud, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Alberto Ginastera, and Benjamin Lees.

Members

Henri Temianka was widely known as a concert violinist and conductor, author, and educator. He was the only constant member of the Paganini Quartet throughout its existence.

Gustave Rosseels was the original second violinist. Later, he was replaced by Charles Libove (who subsequently became first violinist with the Beaux-Arts Quartet), and then Stefan Krayk.

Robert Courte, who had been a professor of the viola at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, was the original violist. He was later replaced by Charles Foidart, and then David Schwartz and Albert Gillis, respectively.

Robert Maas, the quartet’s original cellist, died suddenly in 1948. He was replaced by Adolphe Frezin, and later by Lucien Laporte, who had been first cellist for the New York Symphony under Walter Damrosch, and the NBC Symphony. Gábor Rejtő, Victor Gottlieb, and Edgar Lustgarten also filled in at various times.

Instruments

The four Strads were among the most cherished possessions of the famed musician Niccolo Paganini. After their purchase by Mrs. Clark, further adjustments were made to the instruments by the craftsman Simone Fernando Sacconi. The provenance of the instruments is as follows:

The first violin, the “Comte Cozio di Salabue,” was made by Stradivari in 1727 and was played by Paganini himself, after he acquired it from Count Cozio de Salabue in 1817.

The second violin, the “Desaint,” was made by Stradivari in 1680. It is an example of Stradivari’s early Amatise style, and is profiled in the book Stradivari’s Genius by Toby Faber.

The viola, the “Mendelssohn,” was made in 1731, when Stradivari was 86 years old. It is one of fewer than a dozen surviving Strad violas, and was the instrument that inspired Paganini to commission Hector Berlioz to write his symphonic poem “Harold in Italy”.

The cello is the “Ladenburg” of 1736. It was owned by the Mendelssohn family before coming into Paganini’s possession.

When the Paganini Quartet disbanded in 1966, the four Strads reverted to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. In accordance with Mrs. Clark’s will, they were never to be separated. Beginning in 1992, they were loaned to the Cleveland String Quartet. Since 1994, they have been owned by the Nippon Music Foundation, and were played by the Tokyo String Quartet until the quartet disbanded in 2013. The four instruments were then played by the Hagen Quartet, and then by the Quartetto di Cremona. In 2019, they were loaned to the Kuss Quartet to record the entire cycle of Beethoven Quartets live at Suntory Hall, Tokyo.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Paganini Quartet String Quartet in C Major, Op. 76 No. 3, Hob. III77 Emperor I. Allegro (Haydn) with Charles Libove, David Schwartz, Lucien Laporte and Henri Temianka

Paganini Quartet String Quartet in C Major, Op. 76 No. 3, Hob. III77 Emperor II. Poco adagio cantabile (Haydn) with Charles Libove, David Schwartz, Lucien Laporte and Henri Temianka

Paganini Quartet String Quartet in C Major, Op. 76 No. 3, Hob. III77 Emperor III. Menuetto. Allegro (Haydn) with Charles Libove, David Schwartz, Lucien Laporte and Henri Temianka

Paganini Quartet String Quartet in C Major, Op. 76 No. 3, Hob. III77 Emperor IV. Finale. Presto (Haydn) with Charles Libove, David Schwartz, Lucien Laporte and Henri Temianka

Paganini Quartet String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, Op. 10 No. 6, K. 465 Dissonance I. Adagio – Allegro (Mozart) with Charles Libove, David Schwartz, Lucien Laporte and Henri Temianka

Paganini Quartet String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, Op. 10 No. 6, K. 465 Dissonance II. Andante cantabile (Mozart) with Charles Libove, David Schwartz, Lucien Laporte and Henri Temianka

Paganini Quartet String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, Op. 10 No. 6, K. 465 Dissonance III. Menuetto. Allegro (Mozart) with Charles Libove, David Schwartz, Lucien Laporte and Henri Temianka

Paganini Quartet String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, Op. 10 No. 6, K. 465 Dissonance IV. Allegro molto (Mozart) with Charles Libove, David Schwartz, Lucien Laporte and Henri Temianka