Selected String Quartets

Pierre Rode (1774–1830) was one of the finest violinists of his day, earning a reputation throughout Europe for his extraordinary and lavish virtuosity. His twenty-four pedagogical caprices and thirteen violin concertos are perhaps his most performed works today, and as such his rich and diverse contribution to string quartet repertoire has largely been forgotten. This edition presents a timeline of Rode's relationship with the quartet: opus 11, written during the height of the French Revolutionary period, was clearly intended for private, domestic enjoyment; opus 18 provides a flashback to the quatuor concertante style of pre-revolutionary Paris that became synonymous with the likes of Giovanni Battista Viotti; opus 24 and opus posthume reflect the quatuor brillant, a virtuosic, concerto-like style of quartet that became all the rage in European musical centers in the second decade of the nineteenth century.