DCD 027 - Biggs, Beethoven and the Barber

I didn't plan this podcast episode to be alliterative -- it just worked out that way.

We continue our survey of the Monument Records catalog of unusual Beethoven repertoire, this time presenting a previously unrecorded string quartet. The "Brilliant" quartet (named for Beethoven scholar Ira F. Brilliant) was discovered in the notebooks for the "Eroica" symphony. The first movement was almost complete, and so with very little editing, a performance edition was created. As with other selections I've featured from Monument, it presents a fascinating glimpse of what might have been.

We recently added Consort Press to our list of labels, and from them we include an excerpt from a mass by from American composer and conductor John Biggs.

And we start with a performance of the opening sinfonia to Rossini's "Barber of Saville," as performed by the Gruppo Ocarinistico Budriese, an occarina ensemble with a history that stretches back to the late 19th century.

- Ralph

Rossini: a"il Barbiere di Siviglia" Sinfonia
Gruppo Ocarinistico Budriese
Callisto Records

Beethoven: The "Brilliant" String Quartet in A major, Biamonti 382
Covington String Quartet
Monument Records


Biggs: Mass for Our Time (final movement)
Consort Chorale and Chamber Players
Consort Press