Emerson String Quartet

Cellists love Mozart's Prussian Quartets. Commissioned in Berlin by the King of Prussia in 1789-1790, they were written to feature the cello, the instrument played by the monarch. One of America's most prestigious string quartets, the Emerson, has recorded the three late works by Mozart in conjunction with an international concert tour. The composer had lost none of his gifts by the time he wrote the trio of works, which preserve a perfect balance of elements while allowing for a quicksilver shifting of emotion as well as a sense of effortlessness and freedom within a carefully defined musical genre. The Emerson's performances shine.