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 vigour, tied together with a habanera rhythm. No. 2 in C major In Three Linked Movements, 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. Alfano, Franco String Quartet No. 1 in D Major (1924 version) 1 I. Vivacissimo 09:08 2 II. Calmo 12:26 3 III. Largo - Allegro deciso 11:24 String Quartet No. 2 in Tre Tempi Collegati in C Major 4 I. Largo assai - 07:51 5 II. Allegretto semplice (come una canzoncina per bimbi) 04:18 6 III. Molto allegro 09:56 String Quartet No. 3 in G Minor 7 I. Largo 12:33 8 II. Allegretto 07:04 9 III. Allegro 07:44
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