If this album's elongated title seems somewhat confusing, this explanation should aid understanding. The music on the album comprises six tracks; the first five are the five movements of Ludwig van Beethoven's (1770 � 1827) string quartet "Streichquartett a-moll opus 132" which plays for 40' 19" with the movements ranging in duration from 1:52 up to 15:16; the sixth track, which closes the album, is a 1980 composition entitled "Fragmente � Stille, an Diotima" by Venice-born Italian avant-garde composer Luigi Nono (1924-1990) with a duration of 36:26.

Both compositions here were performed and recorded by Pellegrini Quartet � Antonio Pellegrini on violin, Thomas Hofer on violin, Charlotte Geselbracht on viola, and Helmut Menzier on cello � founded in 1989 in Freiburg im Breeisgau. The Beethoven composition was recorded at the Festeburg-kirche, Frankfurt am Main. The Nono composition was recorded at Festival Hall of the Psychiatric Hospital , Emmendingen. The date of neither recording is on record, but they must both have preceded Charlotte Geselbracht's departure from the Pellegrini Quartet in 1993. The two recordings were originally released together as one album, in 1995 on the Dutch label BV Haast Record in bearing the same title as this release.

After the Pellegrini Quartet and the album's original producer, Konrad Boehmer, had given their permission for ezz-thetics by Hat Hut, Ltd. to reissue this recording, in typical fashion the Swiss label set to work to make the recording's sound as good as possible. The end result is as good as one could hope for. Beethoven's opus 132 was one of five string quartets that he wrote towards the end of his life, one which is some listeners' favourite. Part of its appeal is the different durations and variety of the five movements. Rather than opting for another Beethoven composition, the quartet instead chose a 1980 composition by Luigi Nono, his only string quartet, entitled "Fragmente � Stille , an Fiotima". It was composed over 150 years after opus 132 but complements it perfectly.