A new hybrid 2 SACD set of the Op.59 String Quartets and the String Quintet Op.29 by Ludwig van Beethoven is performed by the Kuijken Quartet and the viola player Marleen Thiers. The Quartet is made up of members of the Kuijken family who are renowned worldwide for their expertise in the performance of music on period instruments.

Around the time the three Rasumovsky Quartets were written, Beethoven’s favourite violinist Ignaz von Schuppanzigh had begun the very first professional string quartet, thus providing Beethoven with an ideal opportunity for the composer to try out his new string quartet ideas. Before this, string quartet playing generally took place as private entertainments performed by good amateurs, whereas writing for the Schuppanzigh quartet now meant that Beethoven’s music would be performed at public concerts. The Quartets received their title due to being commissioned by Prince Razumovsky, a great patron of the arts and Russian ambassador in Vienna at the time.

The Kuijken Quartet features musicians from the legendary Kuijken family. Cellist Wieland Kuijken has often worked together with his two brothers Barthold and Sigiswald and harpsichordist Robert Kohnen. Sigiswald Kuijken’s technique of playing baroque violin has been adopted by many musicians since the early 1970s. In 1972 he founded the internationally renowned baroque orchestra La Petite Bande, and Sigiswald’s daughter Sara, and Marleen Thiers are both regular members of the group. Violinist Veronica Kuijken regularly performs with the Kammerorchester Basel.