Spotify classical music playlists: Quartetto Italiano early recordings 1946 1952 Italian quartet Debussy Boccherini Beethoven Mozart Haydn

Last year, in the same week as David Bowie, the last founder of the famous Italian Quartet “Quartetto Italiano” died; Elisa Pegreff, at the age of 93. Married to the first violinist (and rumored to have had an affair with all the other members) she stayed in the quartet from it’s formation in 1945 till disbandment in 1980. I was curious what the first recording of the quartet was and stumbled upon a box with the earliest recordings of the quartet. Even the 1946 78rpm set with “the reason” the quartet started in the first place, Debussy’s string quartet.

The sound of the earliest recordings is a bit harsh, but just sample track 07, the 1948 slow movement of the Luigi Boccherini quartet in D; what a breathtaking beauty in that recording. The metadata was (of course) not there on Spotify, so I gathered the recording information from several websites with discographical information. Enjoy the exploration of the early recordings of the Quartetto Italiano…!

-Track 01-04: Claude Debussy: String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10

Conservatorio G.Verdi, Milano (Italia) - 14-20 march 1946

Issued on Telefunken 78rpm’s 1946

-Track 05: Leonardo Vinci: Gavotta da 6 Antiche Danze (from «12 Soli per Violino e Arpicordo»)

Conservatorio G.Verdi, Milano (Italia) 4 mai 1946

Issued on Telefunken 78rpm 1946

Lionello Forzanti plays the viola here, he was replaced by Piero Farulli in 1947

-Track 06-08: Luigi Boccherini: String Quartet in D major, Op. 8 No. 1, G 165

Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Roma (Italia) - 11 & 20 november 1948

Issued on Decca LXT 2680 in 1952

-Track 09-12: Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 64 No. 6 (Hob. III:64)

Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Roma (Italia) - 11 november 1948

Issued on Decca LXT 2680 in 1952

-Track 13-16: Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in C major, Op. 59 No. 3 «Rasumovsky No. 3»

West Hampstead Studios, London - 28 november 1949

Issued on Decca LXT 2679 in 1952

-Track 17: Franz Schubert: Quartettsatz in C minor, D 703

West Hampstead Studios, London - 28 e 29 november 1949

Issued on Decca LXT 2679 in 1952

-Track 18-21: Robert Schumann: String Quartet in F major, Op. 41 No. 2

West Hampstead Studios, London - 27-29 november 1950

Issued on Decca LXT 2691 in 1952

-Track 22-25: Giuseppe Verdi: String Quartet in E minor

West Hampstead Studios, London - 24, 27-29 november 1950

Issued on Decca LXT 2691 in 1952

-Track 26-28: Giuseppe Tartini: Sonata a quattro in G major

Recorded live, Teatro Eliseo, Roma (Italia) - 29 gennaio 1951

-Track 29-32: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A major, K 581

Antoine de Bavier, Clarinet

West Hampstead Studios, London - 8-20 & 22 February 1952

Issued on Decca LXT 2698 in 1952

-Track 33-36: Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in G major, Op. 77 No. 1 (Hob. III:81)

Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Roma (Italia) - 1-10 July 1952

Issued on Decca LXT 2811 in 1954

-Track 37-39: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: - String Quartet in D major, K 155