Gaetano Donizetti: String Quartet No. 7 in F Minor

                         

Gaetano Donizetti

Portrait of Gaetano Donizetti by Giuseppe Rillosi, 1848

(29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, Donizetti was a leading composer of the bel canto opera style during the first half of the nineteenth century. Altogether, he composed about 75 operas, 16 symphonies, 19 string quartets, 193 songs, 45 duets, 3 oratorios, 28 cantatas, instrumental concertos, sonatas, and other chamber pieces.

String Quartet No. 7 in F Minor

I. Agitatissimo 00:00
II. Adagio, ma non troppo 04:47
III. Presto 08:30
IV. Marcia lugubre 12:43

Giovane Quartetto Italiano
Alessandro Simoncini, Violin
Luigi Mazza, Violin
Demetrio Comuzzi, Viola
Luca Simoncini, Cello

Music in 19th century Italy was completely dominated by opera and its related lyrical forms. Very few composers directed their energies to instrumental music, even fewer to chamber music. Giuseppe Cambini, however, was one of the most prolific composers of string quartets. His works, particularly his late works such as the quartet op. 40/3, are filled with a passion reminiscent of Haydn and provide telling testimony of his talent.

Other important contributions to this genre, however, also came from opera composers. Three singular examples by Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini have been chosen to compliment Cambini’s quartet. These compositions are characterized by a particularly dramatic style of ｅxpression, wonderfully brought to life by the impassioned performances of the Giovane Quartetto Italiano.