FRANCO ALFANO (1875-1954): Complete String Quartets - No. 1 in D, No. 2 in C and No. 3 in G Minor.

Description: The Neapolitan composer Franco Alfano was prolific and highly successful in the field of opera, but he also composed three string quartets over a period framed by the two world wars. No. 1 in D major was written during the First World War and stretches the limits of the quartet medium with its quasi-orchestral vigor, tied together with a habanera rhythm. No. 2 in C major, though smaller in scale, reflects the range of Alfano’s influences, which include Russian and Eastern European music, rustic dances and French impressionism. Work on No. 3 in G minor was started in 1944, a year after the death of his beloved wife, to whom Alfano pays tribute in the haunting first movement. The quartet was completed in 1945 and ends with an ebullient monothematic march finale celebrating Ancient Rome. Elmira Darvarova, Mary Ann Mumm (violins), Craig Mumm (viola), Samuel Magill (cello).