Hagen Quartet - Maurice Ravel - String Quartet in F - Allegro moderato, Très doux (1/4)

The first movement of 28 year-old Ravel's Quatuor à Cordes. He is said to have been meticulous in his writing, and, finally, a group of musicians have matched his efforts in terms of attention. This is, in my opinion, the best performance and recording of this piece.

Allegro moderato introduces the main theme to be repeated in movements III and IV. The atmosphere developed is one of warmth and a contrasting vastness. The last 30 seconds always gave me the impression of falling asleep, once again surrounded by warmth.

Hagen Quartet:

First Violin - Lukas Hagen (Austria)
Second Violin - Rainer Schmidt (Germany)
Viola - Veronika Hagen (Austria)
'Cello - Clemens Hagen (Austria)

Concert hall - Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria. (2000.)

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The avi file, http://www.medici.tv/#/movie/2832/
And/or the DVD, http://www.hbdirect.com/album_detail.php?pid=3003258