Quartetto di Cremona's New Album, "The Art of Fugue"

The new release brings an innovative instrumentation to JS Bach's Art of the Fugue

The Quartetto di Cremona was formed in 2000 and will celebrate its 25th anniversary during the 2024/25 season with several concerts in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, North America, Taiwan, Japan, and China. The quartet comprises violinists Cristiano Gualco and Paolo Andreoli, violist Simone Gramaglia, and cellist Giovanni Scaglione.

Their latest release on Orchid Classics, The Art of Fugue, brings an innovative instrumentation to J.S. Bach's Art of Fugue. The work was originally written for keyboard with two staves, later expanding to four staves. The work was essentially an exercise in complex counterpoint with several voices imitating and exchanging musical ideas. Bach did not live to see the whole publication in print, and the scores were not of interest to the public. Today, the work is cherished as a masterpiece and serves as a wordless instruction manual that demonstrates how to write several different kinds of counterpoint.

The Quartetto di Cremona scored the work for string quartet and since the inner lines of many movements go beyond the range of the second violin and viola, violinist Paolo learned the viola for several movements, and violist Simone had a tenor viola made. In total, the quartet uses 7 instruments throughout the entire piece.

To purchase and listen to the album, click here.

Listen to a live recording of The Art of Fugue below

"If you study Bach as a child," Cristiano Gualco shared. "You come to think it’s very strict. But actually there’s a lot of freedom. This became apparent too from speaking to many excellent Baroque specialists: there is space to find your own tempo, dynamics, and articulation."

"We tried to make it more captivating, let’s say," he added.

The Quartetto di Cremona frequently presents masterclasses in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. The members of the quartet have been Professors at the Walter Stauffer Academy in Cremona since 2011. In 2019, the quartet won the “Franco Buitoni Award” by the Borletti Buitoni Trust for their constant contribution to the promotion of chamber music in Italy and around the world. Since 2015, they have been ambassadors for the international project “Friends of Stradivari” and honorary citizens of Cremona. They also endorse “Le Dimore del Quartetto” and Thomastik Infield Strings.