Busch: String Quartet op. 57

Adolf Busch was not only the most important German violinist between the two world wars, but also left behind more than 100 works as a composer. After our first successful CD with his trios and the piano quartet, the Sarastro Quartet now dedicates itself to further chamber music by the congenial composer. The starting point in terms of harmonic language was for him the music of Max Reger, with whom he was friends in the last years of his life, but to a certain extent purified and balanced thanks to Busch's lifelong study of chamber music from Mozart to Brahms. Some themes and motifs could just as easily be found in Dvorak, mysterious flitting sound images in Mendelssohn, rhythmic impulses in Beethoven and lyrical intensity in Schubert or Schumann. That Busch did not shy away from stylistic retrospections has already been reproached by contemporary critics, but ultimately the manner of Busch's syntheses, the sovereign disposal of the musical material and finally the personal depth of expression and humor in his music remain decisive.