"Mendelssohn was a greater quartet composer than he is often given credit for, and the Alban Berg Quartett... take a powerful musical stand for that view", wrote Gramophone when this pairing of quartets was first released. Composed in the late 1820s, these works are coloured by the young Mendelssohn's intensive engagement with the late quartets of Beethoven - music that, at the time, was often considered excessiveley adventurous.

Disc 1
01 Adagio non troppo_Allegro non tardante  - Alban Berg Quartett
02 String Quartet No. 1 in E flat Op. 12: Canzonetta - Allegretto  - Alban Berg Quartett
03 Andante espressivo  - Alban Berg Quartett
04 Molto allegro e vivace  - Alban Berg Quartett
05 String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 13: Adagio - Allegro vivace  - Alban Berg Quartett
06 String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 13: Adagio non lento  - Alban Berg Quartett
07 String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 13: Intermezzo (Allegretto con moto - Allegro di molto)  - Alban Berg Quartett
08 String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 13: Presto  - Alban Berg Quartett