Debussy String Quartet, Ravel String Quartet, Saint-Saens String Quartet No.1 : Modigliani Quartet (2CD)

At the dawn of the twentieth century, Paris, more than any other city, experienced the metamorphosis of the arts as they cast away the constraints of tradition and embraced freedom and experimentation. The vibrations of colors and light on the canvases of Monet, Seurat and their contemporaries were transmuted into sounds in the output of Debussy, whose String Quartet opened the way to a new aesthetic. Ten years later Ravel was to crystallize it's style, as if to follow Debussy's conception through to it's conclusion. Between these two jewels of the French repertoire the Modigliani Quartet performs Saint-Saens' String Quartet No.1, revealing it as a tremendously appealing work, brimming with charm, humor and elegance.