String Quartet No. 2 (Nielsen) String Quartet No. 2 (Nielsen) Carl Nielsen's String Quartet No. 2 in F minor or Quartet for Two Violins, Viola and Cello in F minor, Opus 5, was composed in 1890, partly in Denmark but mostly in Germany where the composer was travelling on a stipend. The second of Nielsen's four string quartets in the official series, it was first performed privately for Joseph Joachim on 18 November 1890 at the Hochschule für Ausübende Tonkunst in Berlin. Nielsen reported in an interview that he was inspired to write the first movement of his second quartet when the theme suddenly occurred
Stanford String Quartet epitomizes central European musicianship at its best: sensible, comfortable, unassuming . . ." The Johnston and Bolcom quartets were recorded in 1991 by Laurel Records in Los Angeles, California, at Paramount Hall and Skywalker Hall. Also on this initial signature CD is the String Quartet by Marc Neikrug, "Stars the Mirror." This CD gave all three compositions their world premiere recording. After the retirement of Andor Toth in 1989, the members of the Quartet were Phillip Levy and Susan Freier, violins; Bernard Zaslov, viola; and Stephen Harrison, cello. This quartet recorded a CD in 1993 that was released in 1994