Liverpool String Quartet: Barber's Adagio

The Liverpool String Quartet plays Barber's String Quartet No 1, Mendelssohn's String Quartet No 2 Op 13 and Piazzola's 'Adios Nonino' and 'Libertango'.

The String Quartet by Samuel Barber is possibly unknown to audiences but extremely known at the same time because of his Adagio for strings, the second movement of the quartet, which has featured in the films 'Platoon', 'Top Gear', and Amelie', and has been played at times of mourning, for example at the announcement of John F Kennedy's death, and at the funerals of many famous people, including Albert Einstein and Princess Grace of Monaco.

Written when he was only 18 years old, Mendelssohn's String Quartet No 2 Op 13 is one of his most passionate works. It was composed a few months after the death of Beethoven, and the influence of Beethoven's late string quartets are very much evident in this work.

Piazzolla is known for his Argentinian tangos. Two of his most known compostions are performed by the Liverpool String Quartet - Adios Nonino and Libertango.