Hagen Quartet - Maurice Ravel - String Quartet in F - Très lent (3/4)

The third 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.
Following assez vif is a leisurely-paced third movement, which replays the theme from the first movement all through-out. Très lent is beautifully mysterious and possibly the least accessible of all of the movements, showing a rather unconventional structure. It is just as passionate as assez vif; but instead of heroic, the passages and melodies are quiet, introverted, and deeply romantic. The 2nd violin solo is an example of this, as its melody and style is carried over by the others before exploding into a climax of rhythm and dynamics. Some might say this movement makes allusions to jazz, but I disagree, feeling it is uniquely Ravel; and in that, it is, furthermore, one his most unique works, by itself and as a contributing factor to the whole of his string quartet.
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.)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the copyrights. I am uploading these in the spirit of sharing artistry and education. I urge you to visit the following links and consider purchasing:
The avi file, www.medici.tv/#...
And/or the DVD, www.hbdirect.co...

[@Joebzzz]

shes my favorite violist at the moment. and her viola is so amazing

[@sunshinefield7513]

The violist plays to the group, and she did an amazing job in supporting the spirit of the performance.

[@Isenaver]

I suppose, you mean the viola player

[@marianobalestena3741]

@@Isenaver violist noun [ C ] someone who plays the viola

[@ferdinangenius]

I cannot distinguish a G from an F, probably, but this music , as every good music, goes deep to my brain and heart. I suppose that is enough blessing after all. Thanks general

[@musicfirst5020]

This movement is the most stunning palette of colors displayed by any quartet that I've ever heard. And I've listening to countless quartets over countles hours.

[@DistractionDonkey]

Maybe you need to play Ravel yourself to realize just how great the mastership of this quartet is. The sound seems to have an immense depth while at the same time, it is hovering somewhere in the air. Extremely fragile music: play one note too loud or "edgy" (not sure how to express it in English) and you kill it. Thanks a lot for uploading. I totally agree with you: it is the best recording that I know as well.

[@PhysiqueQuantique]

Every time that theme comes back from the first movement, I die.

[@hectorfprez]

Everybody dies...

[@PhysiqueQuantique]

Okay???

[@hectorfprez]

@@PhysiqueQuantique Ok.

[@ajaymallya2903]

The balance and range of colors they bring to the table are just mind-blowingly beautiful. It's also super cool that 3 of them are siblings.

[@robmartin6497]

All of their styles and tonal phrasing are so together. It's like they all have the same idea of what they want to hear before they play it and they all know each other's parts. This is absolutely my favorite recording out there!

[@sjlove2bird]

this movement makes me melt!

[@khk92]

Wow the viola and the cello sound really rich and vibrant, especially the viola.

[@ryangiraldi5722]

At 5:35 I can swear I hear a full orchestra roaring away complete with horns and woodwinds, hard to believe that was only four string instruments...

[@HannaHoviola]

the viola start its amazingly soft.

[@thomashamiltom]

dvd BOUGHT, ive been looking everywhere to own this! I never want to lose this beauty in my life!

[@thegoodgeneral]

Me, too. So glad to see someone appreciating that.

[@fernandosupertino1917]

Es la interpretación más genial y hermosa que jamás haya escuchado... aplausos!

[@slsherwoodwells]

Yes! I got it Amazon online; it's a DVD medici arts UNITEL classica as Hagen Quartet, Schubert -String Quartet in D minor"Death and the Maiden" and Ravel String Quartet in F Major.. to die for, amazing

[@younghot29]

this song makes me want to learn how to play viola, i love it too much, Ravel is truly a gift to modern classical music!

[@JD..........]

It would be difficult to design better chemistry in a laboratory. You can just feel the connection and mutual respect amongst members. They've probably understood one another's playing sufficiently to play in the dark.

[@hellomate639]

I wish I could write and direct fantasy films and use my love of various kinds of music to make up the score. I find impressionistic music very visual. If I close my eyes I start seeing places when I listen to Ravel, Debussy and Rachmaninoff's Etudes Tableaux, some of his more impressionistic works.

[@musicalmarion]

Thank you so much for these videos General, truly beautiful and such an example when learning the work oneself. All the players are so outstanding, it's really a privilege to hear it every time.

[@highpitchvinyl]

that viola solo though .......................

[@morningcoffee2471]

It's been a long time since music can relax me without giving me a headache

[@user-mn4cz6jh5x]

4:53 - 5:47 my favorite part

[@fraserwhiskard8308]

I prefer 0:00 - 9:03

[@gaetangroppi1112]

Wunderbar !!!

[@willowmine2]

i llooooooovvvveee that song its my favorite classicle song

[@steadric]

Amazing how huge a source of inspiration KZbin is hey?

[@thegoodgeneral]

@zwolftonmusik That G does sound a little ambiguous, like it's microtonally flat. But it sounds closer to G than to Gb to me, not to mention his interval sounds like an augmented 4th, which is correct, rather than a perfect fifth if he was, indeed, playing Gb. Tuning is different when you're playing in a group, it's malleable-otherwise the group sounds off. Thanks for your comment!

[@HCalibSimmons1]

5:33-5:43 = bliss

[@jameswilson2348]

The Hagen Quartet is now one of my top favs (ala Telegraph Q, Dover Q)

[@thegoodgeneral]

I was just listening to those last week!

[@thegoodgeneral]

@thomashamiltom That's great to hear!

[@iWyke2]

when u think about it, I think many people have those special videos on youtube that inspired them to take it a step further

[@thegoodgeneral]

@carlosbambos (h t t p) : tinyurl (dot com) /4lsbezx This is a separate recording, however, and I don't own it. I don't know how good it is!

[@WenhaoSun]

God, the second violin part at 7:17. omffffffffffg

[@mariamoooooo]

5:33

[@Millie-kj5ju]

Superb

[@OrlandoAponte]

@mightyafrowhitey Not necessarily. Advanced players use a lot of variety in their oscillations for different sounds . Speed and width are two obvious examples, but there can also be variations in how far above and below the pitch you go. Also, many believe that you're never supposed to go above the correct pitch when doing vibrato

[@Alitha84]

bravissimi!

[@musicmann008]

@AbsoluteZ3R0 (About vibrato) From the teachers i have studied under they say it really depends on the style of music for vibrato. For example with russian music and a lot of russian violinists, the tendency is for them to vibrate above the pitch (personally i like it but some dont) Its kinda up to personal opinion. As far as ravel goes, well idk really im only a student =)

[@thegoodgeneral]

@happyviolinista That's awesome. This is my favorite comment.

[@carlosbambos]

does anyone know of a studio recording of this? it sounds great here but id like a version without the chairs scuffling and people coughing..

[@wafferz]

5:34 wow.

[@Joebzzz]

@AbsoluteZ3R0 can I ask why?

[@musicalmarion]

You don't like her sound? Can you say why and also which planet you are on? :) What instrument do you play please?

[@hotamali]

2:55

[@OrlandoAponte]

@Joebzzz uses one of those giant pads that suck up the sounds. I've heard a lot of players try these shoulder pads out and they always destroy the lower overtones of the instrument. I think that if people like her playing, it's mostly because she's obviously an amazing player, but I just don't really like specific aspects of her sound quality. As far as chamber musicians go, I would much rather listen to Lawrence Dutton of the Emerson quartet.

[@joyce3700]

0:13

[@OrlandoAponte]

@Joebzzz As far as her playing goes I don't like her vibrato. I can't exactly describe it but I'm pretty sure it's because she doesn't vibrate below the pitch enough for my taste (that's what gives it a richer, more sombre quality). The only violist who I've ever heard get away with not vibrating flat enough is Yuri Bashmet, and I only like him sometimes. Also, there's a certain depth that I don't think she gets out of her instrument because she plays without a real shoulder rest. Instead she

[@maxabeles]

where did the concept of harmony go? Time its brought back to the public...

[@OrlandoAponte]

@Joebzzz That's weird, I don't like her sound at all