Chiaroscuro Quartet: Beethoven

The Strad Issue: November 2026

Description: An ongoing Beethoven cycle continues to set a high bar

Musicians: Chiaroscuro Quartet

Works: Beethoven: String Quartets, vol.5: C major op.59 no.3 ‘Rasumovsky’, F minor op.95, Grosse Fuge op.133

Catalogue number: BIS BIS-2728 (SACD)

The Chiaroscuro Quartet’s fifth instalment in its Beethoven cycle undoubtedly upholds its predecessors’ high standards. These engrossing and rigorously considered accounts combine passionate commitment, technical aplomb and rare sophistication, supported by a first-rate recording that agreeably balances individual detail and ensemble resonance.

Tempos tend towards the slick side. In op.59 no.3, for example, the first movement’s Allegro vivace is performed with an urgency that sometimes verges on the breathless. Moreover, the flamboyant fugal finale is despatched at breakneck speed, which is also true of the coda of op.95’s finale; even op.59 no.3’s urbane Menuetto loses some of its requisite ‘grazioso’.

Nevertheless, these players cultivate a winning flexibility of tempo and sense of timing, allowing space for maximising the impact of Beethoven’s expressive markings – sample the magical pianissimos in op.59 no.3’s Allegretto and op.133’s Meno mosso sections, the mezza voce opening of op.95’s second movement and the intentional tonal roughness in op.133’s turbulent ben marcato passages.

The musicians also highlight the natural colours and crisp articulation of their period instruments, using minimal vibrato as a sweetener. The Chiaroscuro’s unanimity of ensemble is outstanding, particularly in op.133’s intense dramatic recitatives and bold unison passages and in op.95’s tautly rhythmic, resolutely driven third movement. Alina Ibragimova’s precision in the stratospheres in the opening movements of opp.59 no.3 and 95 are also highly impressive.

ROBIN STOWELL