Thread: Russian String Quartets

Yes indeed!. Have Salmanov 1, 3&4 by the Taneyev, but on a Russian Disc CD (surelly Northern it's a copy from it). And Alabyev 1&3 by the Rimsky Korsakov quartet.

i discovered that there is a another complete recording of the Juon Quartets on the Musiques Suisses label played by the Niziol Quartet--a new name to me.

...and the Salmanov Quartet Cycle nears completion as Northern Flowers promises to release Volume 2....!!



Now all they need to do, is finally bring the complete set of Gliere string quartets out to illuminate our narrow little modern consciousnesses

After Shostakovich' s striking opus in this field, anything else pales in comparison.
Tchaikovsky' s String Quartets have some of the indelible features of the great composer. Likewise, Borodin' s.
Glazunov' s are also significant, as well as Taneyev' s. Weinberg' s are superb, but they betray his master' s (Shostakovich) influence). Prokofiev' s are fascinating works too, but small output.
Among the rarities, there is some String Quartet work in the amazing Rimsky-Korsakov' s opus!

Principe

Then you've the collective works dedicated to the friend/editor/money lender/vodka provider Mitrofan Belaieff: "les Vendredis", "Jour de Fete" "Birthday" and the "B-La-F" quartet.

Lately I have a particular fondness for the third movement of Borodin's second quartet. The things he does with harmony and melody... its just amazing. It kinda pisses me off that he and Tchaikovsky get so little mention in the world of academia, in lieu of Wagner and Brahms, when they made some pretty spectacular advances from my POV. *sigh* Germans always getting more credit than anybody else, regardless of others' merits. Thankfully that's kinda died out with contemporary composers.

Unfortunately, BD, the "Germans" reached a much higher level of compositional achievements than their Russian peers in the 18th, 19th and early 20th century. The greatest, most significant composers (Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Weber, Schumann, Wagner, Brahms, Bruckner and so on) offer a much wider scope of Music, in every field (particularly, in the very demanding and refined Chamber Music) that the Russians (or any other) could hardly match.
Tchaikovsky wrote some quite interesting String Quartets, Borodin only two! Few Piano Trios or Piano Music to. One String Quintet from Borodin, but far away from the sublime and superb op.111 (in G major) by Brahms or the one with two Celli, in C major, by Schubert.
However, in the course of 20th century, the Russians, primarily with Shostakovich, took over the world scene of Classical Music. The Germans started dealing with the...economy and restructuring their country and society.

Principe

Originally Posted by principe

Unfortunately, BD, the "Germans" reached a much higher level of compositional achievements than their Russian peers in the 18th, 19th and early 20th century. The greatest, most significant composers (Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Weber, Schumann, Wagner, Brahms, Bruckner and so on) offer a much wider scope of Music, in every field (particularly, in the very demanding and refined Chamber Music) that the Russians (or any other) could hardly match.
Principe

Actually, apart from the German Beethoven and the "Austrian" Schubert (and there is no reason to subsume him under the totalitarian pan "German" label, anymore than there is, to assume every English speaking composer is 'English', the contributions of all the German composers' to the field of the string quartet which you've mentioned....is very thin.


Mendelsohn; Bruckner - especially Wagner - are especially irrelevant and trivial in the field of the string quartet. Brahms has some affinity with the Russian Taneyev, or perhaps its the other way round. Mendelssohn has at least a contribution, which is played brilliantly by a Soviet string quartet (The Taneyev Quartet). Whereas broad sweeping generalisations may apply to broad sweeping genres, like orchestral works, this generalisation doesn't hold for the intimate art of the string quartet genre. There are many works from both countries I like, although the Soviet history and experience of repression and forced interiority for the art of the composer, is one which seems to bring out a character in Soviet music, which Germanic music struggles to express so lucidly.

We should also dissuade from thinking that 'more is quality'. With Borodin's two string quartets, 'more is less'. His language; his style is so succinctly put into those two string quartets, such that they have become performance regulars. Thinking of French famous quartets by Debussy and Ravel - one one string quartet was required, to map the composers in the field of chamber music. Compared to other writers, like Milhaud's 18 string quartets ...none of which are particularly memorable, faced with a square off with a single quartet by Debussy; Ravel.....this much is apparent.

Schubert's writing was distinctly genius with respect to his compositional language and form for a man of his time (and at such a young age too). He certainly didn't draw on German or Austrian folk music, in any way which would make his work 'distinctly German'. Nor did he fit into the German academic models of the string quartet then. In that respect - he is as much an outlier, as Ernest Toch, the German Jew; or others who incidentally happen to be born into a nationality, yet whose music is not shaped by it. These are examples of incidental German nationality; however composers like Toch; Haas; Krenek; Hartmann; Eisler .... have a different identity which transcends pure geography: that of their religious identity.

Nationalism does not mean trite of course: the case for Borodin's String Quartet No.2; nor for Glazunov "The Slavonic Quartet"; and for Myaskovsky's complete string quartet cycle; Shebalin's complete string quartet cycle; and Salmanov's complete string quartet cycle.....all have a distinctly Soviet identity for unfamiliar listeners, who can identify something Soviet in the stylistics of the music. Maybe this is the nationalism? Shostakovich was the one who was first marketed to the west successfully for many reasons; however in his day, it was the string quartets of Shebalin which were played to the Soviet audiences widespread in his own country. Much of what we came to discover in the west about Soviet music, depended on the record labels and marketing devices. In the English/Latin/Romance language countries, we are more allied to Germany anyway, and have an easier barrier-free access to the cultural idioms of our European neighbours (even Americans and Australians are still culturally viewed as being 'closer' than Soviets vis a vis Germans).

In some respects, our tastes are always bound by culture and biases. I know mine are; perhaps however, I can detect a vein of Soviet influence, in the thoughts and writings of Soviet composers - a vein which makes Soviet chamber quartet writing very exhilarating. Anyway - we don't need to comment about Germans in a Russian string quartet thread.....

This nationalistic characteristic is absent in the the majority of the German composers you've mentioned - in the string quartet genre.

PS - as much as Beethoven is revered, I still don't understand his string quartets. Still trying with the Vegh Quartet Cycle .....

I like Glazunov's 5 Novelettes for string quartet, and over all his other stuff is very good. But you know me, even with my favorite composer, I tend not to prefer chamber.

Here's a hipster Russian string quartet that I happen to know.

I would gently disagree with Head_case when considering Mendelssohn's contribution to the SQ repertoire. OK, they weren't stunningly ground-breaking but how many were in the immediate post-Beethoven/Schubert period that roughly coincided with the flowering of Mendelssohn's own maturity? The first three are quite outstanding in their own way if we take on board the fact that Mendelssohn composed them between the ages of c. 14-20 and the final one is a very powerful and taut work, triggered emotionally by the death of his sister and composed not long before his own premature death. The 'middle period' three that he wrote and grouped together as his op. 44 yield little or nothing to the three written by Schumann barely three years later - at least to these ears.

^ Mendelssohn's SQ's are all quite outstanding regardless of what age he composed them ~imo.

For the record Bartok, Schubert and Ravel wrote the best SQ's to my ears, so I don't think I have too much cultural bias here.

But I think its not too surprising Austrians and Germans get most credit across the board (in most genres) up until the 20th century - deservedly so. Tchaikovsky could hardly be called under-rated, and how much higher rated should a composer like Borodin really be? In the 20th century and on there seem to be great composers from all over the place without any one country dominating too much and this seems to be generally acknowledged.

If I could be allowed for a reply, Head_case, I would love to give the following clarifications:
My response was to BD mentioning that there is too much praise to the Germans, like Wagner and Brahms, instead of the likes of Tchaikovsky. So, in my post I referred to the "much higher level of compositional achievements (of the Germans) than their Russian peers". So, the composers I mentioned (mostly in random) had achieved a much higher (actually the highest) of the compositional achievements. Of course, in Chamber Music, not all the ones I mentioned contributed in the same way or at all.
Mendelsssohn' s String Quartets are all superb works in the medium. Not easily accessible to anyone, but marvels of craftsmanship, musicianship, great form, some quite inspiring melodies and complex rhythms.
Schumann' s String Quartets are also great works of the genre. Utterly Romantic, but, musically speaking, splendid compositional works.
Brahms' are even better. True Classics for the genre. Three great, very Romantic but with firm, solid Classic roots. All the above three contributed a substantive amount of superb Chamber Music too. Particularly, Brahms.
Bruckner wrote a very individual String Quartet and a more ambitious String Quintet. Unfortunately for him, his glorious Symphonies covered his small but quite interesting production of Chamber Music.
If we add the huge production of the Austrians too, which fall in the general German tradition of composing music (sometimes referred as the Austro-German tradition), then we have the immense production of the most significant Quartets of Haydn, Mozart and Schubert.
On top of all that, Beethoven comes with what is considered (in every professional circle) as the pinnacle of the medium: his 16 unique String Quartets, where the Late ones remain unparalleled, unrivaled and top-ranking.
In general, what I wanted to underscore, Head_case, was that the German (or Austro-German) tradition reached such a level of perfection in the eras from Bach's time till early 20th century (with the second school of Vienna and R. Strauss), where we observe its definite decline.
I believe the Russians till the time of Shostakovich contributed to the genre of Chamber Music and to the medium of String Quartet rather modestly: Tchailovsky' s three and Borodin' s two along with some rather less interesting from Glazunov and some others in 19th century are too little to compare. Taneyev' s greater production along with Weinberg' s as well as the two quite good ones by Prokofiev give a better perspective of the Russian contribution in 20th century. However, Shostakovich and Bartok are the ones who mark the 20th century with String Quartets that some musicians, experts, musicologists considered as the equivalent of Beethoven's late ones. I cannot possibly share this view, but I find both composers' output in this field as the most formidable in the past century.
My observations above have nothing to do with Nationalism in music.

Principe

Shostakovich's String Quartet No.8 in C minor is the first string quartet i've properly listened too, it's inspired me too write a string quartet for my Music AS composition

Cesar Cui wrote three string quartets,
String Quartet No. 1, Op. 45 (1890)
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 68 (1907)
String Quartet No. 3, Op. 91 (1913)

I wonder how it sounds and why nobody seems to remember these pieces, not to say do a recording on it?