Cantante e Tranquillo

Bandleader András Keller and producer Manfred Eicher assembled a finely balanced program for the Cantante e tranquillo Keller Quartet, focusing exclusively on slow movements. Together, they began analyzing recordings from the past twenty years, juxtaposing works from different eras to explore connections between composers of the past and present. As a framework for the album, they chose to record the Adagios from Beethoven's Op. 130 and 135, supplemented by new recordings by Kurtág, and to include both older and more recent interpretations by Knaifel, Ligeti, and Bach. In the liner notes, Wolfgang Sandner observes that this recording is characterized by a melancholic feel. Although the pieces were composed at different times, they seem as if they were created for one another. The music appears clear and immediate – we experience it as music, as beautiful music, as great music.