Capet Quartet

The Capet String Quartet was a French musical ensemble founded in 1893, which remained in existence until 1928 or later. It made a number of recordings and was considered one of the leading quartets of its time.

Personnel

The personnel of the Capet Quartet (other than the leader, Lucien Capet) changed fairly often, and are reported differently in variant sources. The original line-up appears to have included a player named Giron, and during the first decade Henri Casadesus and Marcel Casadesus, uncles of the celebrated pianist Robert Casadesus, played viola and cello within the group, which often rehearsed at the Casadesus household.

[http://edocs.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/volltexte/2003/7803316/original/Bild.jpgCapet Quartet Photo]

In 1903, it had become:

[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b7720372n/f2.item Capet Quartet Photo with newer members]

1st violin: Lucien Capet
2nd violin: André Touret
viola: Louis Bailly
violoncello: Louis Hasselmans

By 1910 the team was established which survived into the 1920s to make the well-known recordings:

1st violin: Lucien Capet
2nd violin: Maurice Hewitt
viola: Henri Benoît
violoncello: Camille Delobelle

Origins

Lucien Capet (b. Paris, 1873) had been a pupil of Morin at the Paris Conservatoire, and appeared as a soloist very widely, especially with the Concerts Lamoureux. He taught at the Bordeaux Conservatoire 1899-1903 and (from 1907) in Paris, wrote three string quartets of his own, and a work on the art of bowing. (The name Capet is connected with the dynasty which ruled in France from the tenth to the eighteenth century: Louis XVI was, during the French Revolution, referred to as Louis Capet.) Louis Hasselmans (b. Paris 1878) took first prize in the Paris Conservatoire in 1893, became cellist with the Concerts Lamoureux, and was also a conductor: he later became attached to the Opéra Comique. In 1924 it was said that the quartet devoted itself mainly to the performance of the Beethoven repertoire, but dedicated a few performances each year to modern music.

Recordings

(Made c.1925-1930)
* Beethoven: Quartet in A major op 18 no 5 (Columbia Records, D 1659-62).
* Beethoven: Quartet in F major op 59 no 1 (Col. D 15065-70).
* Beethoven: Quartet in E flat major 'Harp', op 74 (Col., L 2248-51).
* Beethoven: Quartet in C sharp minor, op 131 (Col., L 2283-87).
* Beethoven: Quartet in A minor, op 132 (Col., L 2272-76).
* Mozart: Quartet in C major K 465 (Col., L 2290-93).
* Schumann: Quartet in A minor op 41 no 1 (Col., L 2329-31).
* Debussy: Quartet in G minor op 10 (1893) (Col., D 15085-8).
* Franck: Quintet in F minor, with Marcel Ciampi (pno) (Col., D 15102-6).
* Haydn: Quartet in D major op 64 no 5 'Lark' (Col., D 13070-2).
* Ravel: Quartet in F major (Col., D 15057-60).
* Schubert: Quartet in D minor 'Death and the Maiden' (Col. D 15053-6).

Sources

* A. Eaglefield-Hull, "A Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians" (Dent, London 1924).
* L. Capet, "Technique de l'Archet".
* R.D. Darrell, "The Gramophone Shop Encyclopedia of Recorded Music" (New York, 1936).

External links

Website listing quartets with dates [http://www.lmconsult.com/xqf.html]

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk8c7RWig3I Quatuor Capet - Lucien Capet on YouTube]