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Weekly quartet. Just a music lover perspective.

733K views 9K replies 102 participants last post by  hammeredklavier 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I love string music and just following another forum friend example am going to dedicate every day of the week time enough to listen quietly a string quartet. I will google for info about the particular opus and post any important info that I found, specially performers interview and so on..

Anyone wanting to join is welcome, just maintaining the perspective stated in the post title. You will probably will find here emotions, personal points of view and so on. If you are a professional, you'll probably will not find the info useful, the only purpose of this entertainment is to increase music enjoyment by knowing a little better the music to listen.

In this thread you will find the activity coordination info. Anyone wanting to participate just post an answer. Quartet selection will be made in order of "appearance".

For the first week, beginning on February, 24 I'll select the first quartet: Beethoven, String Quartet 14, opus 131. Will open the thread tomorrow Sunday.

Enjoy.
Vicente Vida

Talk Classical String Quartet Thread
(quartet of the week in large font)

Abrahamsen - String Quartet No. 4
Ades - The Four Quarters
Alwyn - String Quartet No. 3
Arensky - String Quartet No. 1
Arensky - String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 35/35a
Arnold - String Quartet No. 2
Arriaga - String Quartet No. 2
Arriaga - String Quartet No. 3
Bacewicz - String Quartet No 4
Bach - Art of Fugue
Barber - String Quartet
BartĂłk - String Quartet No. 3
BartĂłk - String Quartet No. 4
BartĂłk - String Quartet No. 5
BartĂłk - String Quartet No. 6
Bax - String Quartet No. 1
Beach - Quartet for Strings in One Movement, Op. 89
Beamish - String Quartet No. 2 “Opus California”
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 1
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 2
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 7 "Razumovsky 1"
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 8 "Razumovsky 2"
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 11
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 12
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 13
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 14
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 15
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 16
Berg - Lyric Suite
Birtwistle - The Tree of Strings
Bloch, E. - String Quartet No. 3
Boccherini - String Quartet g minor, op. 32 No. 5, G 205
Borodin - String Quartet No. 2
Brahms - String Quartet No. 1
Brahms - String Quartet No. 2
Brahms - String Quartet No. 3
BretĂłn - String Quartet No. 3
Bridge - String Quartet No. 2
Bridge - String Quartet No. 4
Britten - String Quartet No. 1
Britten - String Quartet No. 2
Britten - String Quartet No. 3
Bruch - String Quartet No.2
Busoni - String Quartet No.2
Cage - String Quartet in Four Parts
Carter - String Quartet no 1
Carter - String Quartet No. 3
Cerha - String Quartet No. 2
Chausson - String Quartet in C minor, op. 35
Cherubini - String Quartet No. 1
Chin, U. - ParaMetaString
Coates, G. - String Quartet No. 9
Crawford Seeger - String Quartet
Crumb - Black Angels
Czerny - String Quartet in D Minor
Davies, Peter Maxwell - Naxos String Quartet No. 3
Debussy - String Quartet in G Minor
Dohnányi - String Quartet No. 2
Donizetti - String Quartet No. 7 in F minor
Dusapin - String Quartet No. 5
Dusapin - String Quartet No. 7 "OpenTime"
Dutilleux - Ainsi La Nuit
Dvořák - String Quartet No. 10 "Slavonic"
Dvořák - String Quartet No. 12 "American"
Dvořák - String Quartet No. 13
Dvořák - String Quartet No. 14
van Eechaute - String Quartet No. 1 "à la mémoire de Maurice Ravel"
Elgar - String Quartet in E Minor
Fauré - String Quartet in E Minor
Ferneyhough - String Quartet No. 6
Franck - String Quartet in D Major
Frank - Quijotidas
Gade - String Quartet in E Minor
Gerhard - String Quartet No. 2
Gernsheim - String Quartet No. 3 in F Major, Op. 51
Ginastera - String Quartet No. 2
Glass, Ph. - String Quartet no. 5
Glazunov - String Quartet No. 5 in d minor, Op. 70
Gliere - String Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 20
Grieg - String Quartet No. 1
Gubaidulina - String Quartet No. 1
Haas - String Quartet No. 2 op.7
Hanson - String Quartet (in One Movement), op. 23
Harvey - String Quartet No.4 with Live Electronics
Haydn - String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 20/3
Haydn - String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 20/5
Haydn - String Quartet in C major, Op. 33/3 "Bird"/"Vogel"
Haydn - String Quartet In G, Op. 33/5 " How Do You Do?"
Haydn - String Quartet in F sharp minor, Op. 50/4
Haydn - String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 64/3

Haydn - String Quartet Op.71, #2
Haydn - String Quartet Op.76, #2 "Fifths"
Haydn - String Quartet Op. 76, #4 "Sunrise"
Hillborg - Kongsgaard Variations
Hindemith - String Quartet No. 4
Holmboe - String Quartet No. 4
Holmboe - String Quartet No. 15
Honegger - String Quartet No. 2
Honegger - String Quartet No. 3
Howells - String Quartet No. 3 'In Gloucestershire'
Hummel - String Quartet No. 1 in C major, op. 30: No. 1
Husa - String Quartet No. 4 "Poems"
Ives - String Quartet No. 2
Janacek - String Quartet No. 1 'Kreutzer Sonata'
Janacek - String Quartet No. 2 'Intimate Letters'
Johnston - String Quartet No. 4 "Amazing Grace"
Kabalevsky - String Quartet No 2
Kagel - String Quartet No.2
Kodály - String Quartet 2, op. 10
Koechlin - String Quartet No. 1
Kokkonen - String Quartet No. 3
Korngold - String Quartet No. 2
Krenek - String Quartet No. 5
Kurtág - Six Moments Musicaux for String Quartet
Lachenmann - Gran Torso
Lachenmann - Reigen seliger Geister (Round Dance of the Blessed Spirits)
Langgaard - String Quartet No. 4
Larcher - Ixxu
Lavista - String Quartet No. 4 "SinfonĂ­as"
Ligeti - String Quartet No. 1 “Métamorphoses nocturnes”
Ligeti - String Quartet No. 2
Lutosławski - String Quartet
Magnard - String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 16
Malipiero - String Quartet No. 1 "Rispetti e strambotti"
MartinĹŻ - String Quartet No. 5
MartinĹŻ - String Quartet No. 7 "Concerto da camera"
Mathias - String Quartet No. 1
Fanny Mendelssohn - String Quartet in E Flat Major
Felix Mendelssohn - String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13
Felix Mendelssohn - String Quartet No. 3 in D major, op. 44-1
Felix Mendelssohn - String Quartet No. 4 in E minor, Op. 44-2
Felix Mendelssohn - String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80
Milhaud - String Quartet No. 1
Moeran - String Quartet No. 1
Mosolov - String Quartet No. 1
Mozart - String Quartet No. 14 "Spring"
Mozart - String Quartet No. 19 "Dissonance"
Mozart - String Quartet No. 20 in D major K. 499 "Hoffmeister"
Mozart - String Quartet No. 22 in Bb K. 589
Myaskovsky - String Quartet No. 13 in A minor, Op. 86
Nielsen - String Quartet No. 3
Nielsen - String Quartet No. 4
Nono - Fragmente-Stille, an Diotima (1979-80)
Nordgren, Pehr Henrik - String Quartet No. 10
Nordheim - String Quartet (1956)
Penderecki - String Quartet No. 3 "Leaves of an Unwritten Diary"
Pfitzner - String Quartet No. 2 in C sharp minor , Op. 36
Pleyel - String Quartet in G Major, B. 332
Popov - Quartet-Symphony
Prokofiev - String Quartet No. 1
Prokofiev - String Quartet No. 2 "Kabardinian"
Ran - String Quartet No. 3 "Glitter, Doom, Shards, Memory"
Ravel - String Quartet in F Major
Reger - String Quartet No. 1
Reger - String Quartet No. 4
Revueltas - String Quartet No. 3
Rihm - String Quartet No. 3 „Im Innersten“
Rihm - Et Lux for String Quartet and Vocals
Rubbra - String Quartet No. 3
Saariaho - Nymphéa (Jardin Secret III) for String Quartet and Live Electronics
Saygun - String Quartet No. 1, op. 27
Schnittke - String Quartet No. 2
Schnittke - String Quartet No. 3
Schönberg - String Quartet No. 2 in F-sharp minor, Op. 10
Schoenberg - String Quartet No. 4
Schubert - String Quartet No 4 D46
Schubert - String Quartet No. 13 "Rosamunde"
Schubert - String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor "Death and the Maiden"
Schubert - String Quartet No. 15
Schulhoff - String Quartet No. 1
Schuman - String Quartet No. 5
Schumann - String Quartet No. 1
Schumann - String Quartet No. 3 in A Major, Op. 41/3
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 2
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 3
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 4
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 5
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 8
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 10
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 12
Sibelius - String Quartet in D Minor "Voces Intimae"
Silvestrov - String Quartet No. 1
Simpson - String Quartet No. 1
Smetana - String Quartet No. 1 "From My Life"
Spohr - String Quartet No. 7 n E-Flat major, Op. 29.1
Szymanowski - String Quartet No. 1
Takemitsu - A Way A Lone
Taneyev - String Quartet No. 2 in C major, Op. 5
Tchaikovsky - String Quartet No. 1
Tchaikovsky - String Quartet No. 3
Thoresen - Aion
Thorvaldsdottir - Enigma
Tippett - String Quartet No. 2
Toch -String Quartet No. 10, Op. 28
Tower - In Memory
Valen - String Quartet No. 2
Vasks - String Quartet No. 4
Vaughan Williams - String Quartet No. 2 in A minor
Verdi - String Quartet in E Minor
Villa-Lobos - String Quartet No. 1
Villa Lobos - String Quartet No. 14
Volkmann - String Quartet No. 5
Walton - String Quartet No.2 in A-minor
Webern - Fünf Sätze für Streichquartett, Op. 5 ("Five Movements")
Webern - Six Bagatelles for String Quartet
Weinberg - String Quartet No. 6
Wolf - String Quartet in D minor
Wollschleger - String Quartet #2 "White Wall"
Wolpe - String Quartet
Xenakis - Tetras
Zemlinsky - String Quartet No. 2
Zemlinsky - String Quartet No. 4
Zorn - Cat O’ Nine Tails


The schedule for this round (those who had their turn in italics), choices are typically made on Sunday:

The list for this round:
Mandryka
Josquin13
sbmonty
Merl
Knorf
Malx

(SearsPoncho)

Carmina Banana
StevehamNY
Kjetil Heggelund
Kreisler jr

(allaroundmusicenthusiast)
HerbertNorman
Philidor

maestro267
(Pianomaniac)
Art Rock
Joek Baron
Xenophiliu
Shoskofiev
SanAntone
AndresVel
Mister Meow
Neo Romanza

Also of interest:

Merl's Blogged String Quartet reviews
 
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#4,330 ·
After taking in a couple recordings while out walking on a gloriously crisp, refreshing fall day; I finally feel ready to offer some rambling comments that may or may not make some sort of coherent sense by the time I'm done, but here goes anyway.

I see Beethoven's string quartets as one of the key bodies of work in all classical music; one that everyone who fancies themselves an enthusiast not only of music but of the Great Conversation of art and ideas needs to be familiar with. This is not due to their sheer compositional genius, nor their diversity, nor even their "importance" in the development of how composers thought about music, but the fact that they express ideas and feelings that, at least for me, are utterly unmatched in any other artistic experience. Especially from this quartet (No. 11) onward, they inhabit a realm where the utterly grotesque, piercingly elegiac, unabashedly bawdy, and extravagantly sublime exist on an equal plane. They are mirrors of the soul of a man not by any means thinking unknown thoughts but doing what had never been done before - channelling the ebb and flow of innermost passions and strivings into organized sound. The vicissitudes of the human spirit cannot be described in simple phrases, and so these works are startling hodgepodges of the highest order. They are masterpieces of high humanism that shoots for the transcendent, conveying thoughts that can only be communicated through the intimate form of the quartet. Beethoven realized this model on a much grander scale in the other late quartets, but perhaps he never encapsulated his artistic credo so perfectly as he did here.

My first couple times listening to this, my impressions remained the same as before - somewhat baffled. What exactly is Beethoven trying to say? Why can't he lighten up the mood at least for a fleeting second rather than offering up some sort of challenging thought in every phrase? In other words, why so remorselessly "serioso?" Then, when I approached the task again with my most committed listening cap on, it clicked. Even turning my attention away for a few seconds has the potential to cause me to lose the argument of the music. In order to be truly respectful admirers and revelers in Beethoven's accomplishment here, we need to be put ourselves in his position - a deaf man whose life is music, fighting to represent the heroic, enlightened ideals of his constitution through insurmountable barriers of suffering that would seem to disprove his ideals. Say all you want about the perils of reading autobiographical elements into music, but I see no way around it here - the "Serioso" is a stream-of-consciousness representation of Beethoven's soul. As we soak up the astonishing distillation of conflict between fury and radiance in the first movement, the quintessentially Beethovenian blend of melancholy and irony in the wandering slow movement, the relentless spitfire gyrations of the scherzo, and the breathless romp toward oblivion in the finale that concludes in a ruthlessly satirical mockery of optimism that never fails to get me belly laughing; we get a taste of the Beethoven who is not striving for an epic shout to the heavens as he is elsewhere, but simply showing us how he really feels. He is being the most "serioso" that he can be. And that's why he is so great.

I'll be back within the next couple days with a final roundup of recordings I've assessed, but I can say so far that I've really enjoyed the Wihan and Melos. The former has to be one of the most underrated Beethoven quartet cycles around - I've loved it for a long time - and I think they get just about everything right, conveying a glowing warmth that is both incendiary and bucolic by turns; with some very exciting playing in the "furious" portions. The Melos maybe lean a bit too lyrical for this very dangerous music, but it's hard not to fall for their drop-dead gorgeous delivery of the angelic music in the first movement and their quicker, rustically smiling second movement. I was truly surprised to see the Ebéne as Merl's top pick, as I had previously heard them and thought it highly detached, monochrome, and workaday; nothing like the sumptuous delicacy of their celebrated earlier French quartet disc. But maybe that comes down to my personal favoring of romantic lyricism where it's not really called for; and their hard-nosed, brusque dispatching of the piece may come closer to what Beethoven heard in the ears of his heart.
 
#4,331 ·
ACB, I hope you'll give the Ebene's another go. IMO, their playing is superb in all four movements. They have the hard driving energy, and fleetness of foot (or is that fingers?) in the swift movements, and the depth and pathos in the wonderful Allegretto. My personal favorite movement of this quartet. When I first got this set I wasn't crazy about the close mic'd sound due to the fact that I was listening to the Tokyo RCA recordings. But I've gotten accustomed to it and overall I believe it's excellent cycle. I also enjoyed the Wihan's.
 
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#4,332 · (Edited)
We've already been through enough collected Beethoven album covers to see the highs and the lows, but I stumbled upon this pairing of Serioso with Schubert's #15 by the Oslo String Quartet, with Munch's "Red and White" on the cover. It's an interesting enough choice to put these two particular quartets together, but I passed this album cover by until something nagged at me and I came back to it:

Textile Sleeve Art Painting Fashion design


Two women. One whose face you can't really see. Another whose face you can see quite well, but everything else about her (from her expression to her hands hidden behind her back) suggest a woman guarding a secret.

After reading all of the great insights shared here this week, and listening to this quartet several times (individually, not in sequence with other LVB quartets), I think I'm starting to understand the significance of this cover image and perhaps its brilliance?
 
#4,333 · (Edited)
There were so many different approaches and like you, ACB, I did enjoy the Melos who play really lovingly but with a nice bit of heft. I felt the same about the Gewandhaus. Glad you mentioned the Wihan which was high up on my recommended list and it is a fine underrated cycle. With over 100 recordings there's something there for everyone from the gentle, lyrical approach to the straight down the middle to the hard-hitting. The reason I love the ABQs here is they are brusque, taut, serious and strong when called for then lighten up towards the end. The biggest disappointments, for me, were the Auryns who really didn't get this one and play the whole quartet in a strangely woolly, uncommitted way and the Amadeus who have an annoying habit of speeding up towards the end of every movement. That new Dover recording (thanks Spotify) is very nice. I can see the Dover set being a well-regarded cycle if they can give the late quartets enough gravitas when they get there. Interesting that Steve mentions the Oslo recording. It's a nice reading and in a smaller field it would have made the final reckoning but I just felt that a few others had a slightly better sound but were similar in style.

I do enjoy very different accounts of Beethoven when I'm doing my reviews. Wouldn't it be dull if every SQ took the same approach? There's no set way to play them, it's just that we have our own preferences. Increasingly, though, I'm really digging those different approaches or those that are a bit quirky which is why I liked the Suske, who just drop in little touches that are slightly old-fashioned but sound organic. I think it was Mandryka who enjoyed the Smetana earlier in the thread and I get that. Theirs is a lyrical, highly colorful approach and the playing is at times very special. Thanks, as usual, to Bananaman for the choice. I'm going to be revisiting a couple of these over the next few days and some might be moving up my list dependent upon how I'm feeling.

PS. I just read your comment about the Budapest 51 recording, CB, and realised I'd not played it so I'll do that now (via Spotify) . I occasionally miss a few or don't have access.

PPS. Thanks for that one, CB. For a 51 recording the Budapest is surprisingly clear and present. It's not a million miles from their stereo effort in realisation so I'll tack it on to my recommended list as I found this a charming and quirky recording. I agree about the covert way they round things out in the 4th. It's a nice touch.
 
#4,334 ·
It's Friday, so this. As a mostly hit-and-run contributor, I've not been following the discussion very closely, so forgive me if all this has been said before.

To well-tuned ears, F minor is the best of all possible keys. There is something precarious about it that makes it very versatile, as unsettling as that inescapable friend or relative who specialises in the destabilising comment, who can't give a compliment or consolation without a "despite" or "considering" at the end of it. To the outsider, it might sound difficult, or just awkward, but its fundamental honesty makes it more valuable than any of its siblings, be they gratuitously sunny or performatively glum.

That may be why it seems to be over-represented in study pieces. Bruckner's nullty-nullth, for example, is in F minor, as is Stenhammar's first, un-numbered, quartet. And this, uncommissioned, "serioso" quartet was not one Beethoven seems to have wanted publicly performed at least at first. That said, both Reicha and Onslow had F minor quartets on the market within a few years of this, so it's clearly not a universal taboo, though the key generally is considered as odd as a rustic uncle.

Beethoven was, by all accounts, feeling a bit odd at this time in his life, and, according to the usual sources, about to give up on being 'heroic' and start being 'late'. Though he might not have been aware of that, he will have been turning forty, always an age of anxiety, even in these days when, unlike Beethoven, sufferers can at least console themselves with the thought that they've outlived Schubert. And so, like many before and since, he seems to have turned to his metaphorical shed to engage in an unwise pursuit of his own volition.

"Quartetto Serioso" reflects that, perhaps. The flibbertigibbet, tub-thumping Beethoven of old, the reliable progenitor of frothy entertainments for an adoring public, is also a serious, meaningful composer, producing a work for himself, and those like him. His youthful days of Napoleon-worship were fading (as would everyone's before long) and, at least for now, Beethoven's hero was Beethoven.

In those days, when nobody was aware of mental health, that wouldn't necessarily have been as comfortable a thing as it is now, as I was reminded when, probably in contravention of some principle, reading around the 'new' Beethoven symphony recently. Just after I'd got to wondering how it is that "artificial intelligence" has come to mean nothing of the sort ("machine learning", though it can be impressive, is another thing entirely), and more-or-less concluded that that's what happens when marketing departments and press offices run the world, I stumbled over Jan Swafford's piece*, which included the following on Beethoven:

"In contrast say to Mozart and Bach, with him it's often as if you can hear the effort, the struggle, hear in the notes what it cost him to rise above the universal mediocrity - and the frequent mediocrity of his sketches - into something that he considered worthy of his name, worthy of an immortal place in the long human chronicle, worthy of the talent God's nature gave him. That, and the need to pay the rent."

Which, though arguable, pushes a fair-sized finger into the squishy heart of this week's matter, which happens to be an uncommissioned, perhaps reluctantly-published, piece of Beethoven's which, by all accounts, was done more as an essay than a showpiece.

For that's how it sounds to me, at any rate, if not so much a struggle, as an experiment. From the late-Haydnesque gesture at the get-go to the unsettling chords near the finish, this sounds like a real attempt to synthesise something, with every trick, more or less, in the book. It's not a long piece, and it seems to follow a more-or-less generic classical plan (though it also doesn't), but it manages to be fairly bizarre while it's doing it. The second movement, before it segues into the galumphing third, sounds like a wilful experiment in keeping things going while throwing hurdles in its way. Which is, I guess, what most music is, to some extent but, because this is Beethoven, the hurdles aren't witty so much as challenging. If, as is reported, Beethoven thought the general public wouldn't much like it, I think he'd have had good reasons; it sounds like music for musicians.

I'm not a musician, but, despite that, alongside strange sepulchral harmonies, I hear things that sound like fugues, odd little ostinatos, chorales and the ghost of a cantus firmus. It's practically baroque, a sort of cantata for strings, devoted to music itself.

* https://van-magazine.com/mag/jan-swafford-beethoven-x/
 
#4,335 ·
I'm not a musician, but, despite that, alongside strange sepulchral harmonies, I hear things that sound like fugues, odd little ostinatos, chorales and the ghost of a cantus firmus. It's practically baroque, a sort of cantata for strings, devoted to music itself.
You're certainly a good a listener, Burbage. And a superb writer! In the company of yourself along with ACB, the musicians here, and our resident classical music listening guide editor, Merl, I find myself the perpetual struggling student trying to keep up. And this is a good thing! I'm learning everyday which is the point. Merl reminded us that there are over a hundred recordings of Op.95, so ACB can disregard my urging to revisit the Quatuor Ebene's performance. I got caught up in my enthusiasm but I'm a strong advocate for every listener following their own path.

I would assume that over 60 years after the advent of stereo recording there would have emerged some established guidelines among the engineering community on how to properly record a string quartet? But after listening to several Op.95 recordings it doesn't sound like there is much uniformity at all. And I suppose this is a good thing for the sake of diversity and taste, but with this quartet a proper balance is crucial for my listening enjoyment. Considering the generous amount of fast and furious content, too much room sound and reverb made it impossible for me to enjoy. And I noticed with close miking techniques it can provide greater resolution or an unpleasant claustrophobic effect that doesn't breathe, so maybe Merl could mention some of these details when presenting his final tally of top recordings? I'd appreciate that angle in conjunction with the performance aspects. And if he's already done so I'll go back and re-read his posts.
 
#4,336 ·
A couple thoughts about the music and a couple more listening observations:

There have been some great comments lately, including the Burbage Weekly Wisdom and a really nicely worded post from ACB.
Starthrower:
I worked briefly with a piano technician who told me “tuning pianos is not a science but an art.” I think the same could be said for recording engineers and producers. I think we acknowledge this more in the realm of popular music strangely enough.

These are just some random thoughts. There is no follow through, but I wanted to get them out since we are almost at the end of the week (!)
-I remember once being at an early music conference and hearing a lot of baroque music. There was a demonstration of some fortepianos and I heard someone playing the Beethoven opus 28. Wow, such long phrases, I said and somebody vigorously agreed with me. We were used to the short expressive gestures of the baroque and this was quite different. Beethoven could write long, ornate lines of melody with the best of them, but once in while started a piece with a shockingly short statement. Among these, I would consider his first quartet (in F major), this quartet (in f minor) and the last quartet (F major).
-For Beethoven the fugue seemed to have a special function. He didn’t use it often, but when he did, it was almost as if he had run out of options and had to resort to the great ancestors of music for help. Interesting that in this second movement, fugal writing sort of comes and goes.
-In almost every scherzo, there is a little rhythmic “joke.” This quartet has one that is particularly strong. I challenge anyone to hear the first note as a downbeat. It is clearly a pickup. And yet it is written as a downbeat. Why is confusion necessary for Beethoven at this point in a piece? He marks this movement, allegro assai vivace ma serioso. A serious joke?

As I said, just unfinished thoughts. Here are a couple “authentic” listens. Thanks to Josquin for the tip about the Chiaroscuro.

Chiaroscuro

There is a quietness overall. It leans more to introspection and something deeply personal.
The first movement is very slow compared to most recordings. Due to this pace and also a tendency toward the quietest dynamics, I hear a much greater separation between the stark, declarative statement of the opening and the vulnerable lyrical material.
The scherzo is underplayed at first but increases in intensity as it goes. One advantage to not overdoing the implied accent on the second beat in the opening measures is that when the szorzandi appear later on the second beat of a measure it really stands out. This is very intelligent playing in my opinion.
The last movement starts with a real feeling of being lost. Beethoven does this often—wanders around sadly before finding his theme—but in this movement it is particularly poignant and this group portrays that beautifully. They also really let the movement subside before beginning the coda and I think it works.

I think most listeners might say this recording is not aggressive or gritty enough, but I love it. I immediately want to listen to it again, which is unusual for me. I feel like I am able to hear the intricate textures of this piece and not have anything thrust at me. It is similar to the feelings I have about Shakespeare—just say the words clearly so I can enjoy the sound and work out the meaning. Don’t run around and scream all of the time because high energy is all that is important.
There is also just beautiful soft nuances in this performance that I think are sometimes missing in other takes.

Eroica

There is something about their playing that I find somewhat grating. I don’t know if it is some intonation choices (both groups choose a lower pitch than A=440 but that doesn’t bother me since I am not blessed/cursed with perfect pitch) or the sound of some of their instruments or just their general approach to the piece, but I found parts of this recording a bit unpleasant.

Again, a slower take on the first movement. More explosive in the opening theme. A darker almost noisy quality sets the pace.

In the second movement I am very aware of a sort of steely quality to the sound and it is not agreeing with me.

The scherzo is interesting. A deliberate tempo and a weird hesitation in the third phrase.

The last movement doesn’t start with the mysterious quality that I loved with the Chiaroscuro. They do a thing that “authentic” groups do—that swell without vibrato. I’m sure there is historical reasons for it, but it can be irritating at times. At any rate, I think this is one of those moments to keep everything on a low simmer for a while.

In general, I didn’t enjoy this recording.
 
#4,337 ·
Your comment about the artistry of piano tuning and record production reminded me of an interesting interview I read with the late recording engineer, Jan Erik Kongshaug. Best known to music enthusiasts for his work with the ECM label. Although he discussed some of the equipment he used, he made a point to stress the quality of the piano and the superior tuner they employed for their recordings, and how this greatly contributed to the success of the recording in conjunction with talent of the artist(s). And that this care and attention to these details was not all that common with many studios.

https://www.inner-magazines.com/music/rainbow-studios-jan-erik-kongshaug/
 
#4,344 ·
Thanks to everyone for a stimulating week of Beethoven talk.
It reminds me of my days taking a graduate seminar on Beethoven quartets (I was an undergrad but eager and got all of my basic music course work done early). The woman leading it, a brilliant musicologist was a great inspiration to me. There were only about five of us (one of was a well known local music critic) and we sat in a circle. There was no faking it if you hadn’t done your homework. You had to say something interesting about the work. It infuriated her if you merely “inchwormed” your way through the piece. After years of stultifying music history classes, I was in heaven.

Two moments I remember in particular. She mentioned how a certain passage was similar to how Monk would craft his improvisations and a student said, “I’m sorry. Could you go back to that religious figure you mentioned? I’m not familiar with him.”
Arg.
Then there was the time a new Phillip Glass work was in town (I think it The Photographer) and none of us had gone to see it. She let us have it! “It is like you were around to see the premiere of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo and you chose not to.”
 
#4,345 · (Edited)
I agree with whoever said earlier that this quartet is rather limited in terms of interpretive possibilities than the other LvB quartets. I don't feel for the most part that the overall perception I had of the work changed that much between recordings besides more basic observations like tempo differences, lyrical vs. gruff, etc. IMO, the best results are achieved when the contrasts are strongly but not jarringly emphasized and the work is made to sound inexorable without a hint of artificial striving - "serioso," after all, means "sincerity" above all else. In this regard, though disagreeing with Merl's Ebene choice, I entirely concur with him on his preference for the ABQ. As usual their sonorities are so rich and blended that they sound like a small string orchestra, and they soften the work's rougher edges through some sort of magical sleight of hand of phrasing without sacrificing its drama - a prime example of this is the scherzo, where those awkward limping dance rhythms are made to stand out but aren't harshly attacked at all. It's cool, assured, but not short on creativity; and that's a pleasure.

I've already mentioned my affinity for the Wihan and Melos (and I'd be remiss not to throw in another plug for the miraculous playing of the Budapest, shot through with fervor and enthusiasm), and in my sampling I also thoroughly enjoyed the Smetana's more sauntering, songful traipse through the Beethovenian consciousness; deploying some lovely legato even if did lack a bit of momentum; and the entirely distinctive playing of the Gewandhaus. This was my first time hearing this quartet, and I was immediately taken aback by the colloquial directness of their phrasing and the warm, mellow tone of the instruments - totally unlike anything else you've probably heard. In this recording I heard the work more as the "cantata" that Burbage sees it as (lovely thought, by the way, Burbage) - strongly connected across movements and the flow of the music really "felt" rather than just "played." Highly recommended.
 
#4,347 ·
If I didn't forget any, I have the following 15 recordings of op.95: Busch, Budapest (1940s), Hungarian (1960s), Juilliard (1960s), Smetana (1960s), Weller, Vegh (1970s), Musikverein, Melos (1985), Petersen, Emerson, Hagen, Skampa, Artemis, Endellion. Together with a few late Beethoven this is probably the most recordings I have of any string quartet (which is mostly accidental, 10 of them are in boxes or compilations). I could not listen to all of them. I plan to listen to the Hagen and maybe Vegh or Juilliard today.

Of the ones I listened to I liked Skampa the best, then probably Artemis (but these two were the first two, so maybe the freshness was one cause). The Smetana is very beautiful and this works quite well in movements 2-4 (the 2nd is not really bleak, though) but I find the "angry" section of the first movement too mild (they are also the slowest I have in that movement with ca. 4:50 instead of 4:00-4:10, the fastest are Hagen and Emerson with sub 4 although missing the Mile world record by a few seconds). The one that made the least impression was Petersen (not much beyong "lean and mean", somewhat rough sound as well, it was one of their first recordings (1989), I think). The Emerson is fast, but true to prejudice, not emotionally as gripping as others. The Melos is a bit in between, not quite as fleet as the Emerson but quite powerful and also getting the "awkwardness" of the piece, also in the 2nd movement.
 
#4,354 · (Edited)
The Emerson is fast, but true to prejudice, not emotionally as gripping as others.
And for me, Emerson was the most "gripping" and emotionally convincing, especially their deeply probing and quite special account of the second movement, but also maximizing the impact of the pathos of the last with the explosiveness of the coda. I'd also probably say their Scherzo was the most highly characterized and impactful of those I've heard. For me the only small tick against Emerson was their tempo of the first movement-I'm just not sure it needs to be quite so fast, although to be fair they're simply and admirably following Beethoven's printed metronome marking-but they characterize the changes of affect convincingly nonetheless, with impeccable lyricism and phrasing.

A highlight for me of one of the best cycles out there!
 
#4,355 ·
Happy Sunday, Comrades, and here's an offbeat quartet to start the new week:

It's Anton Arensky's String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 35/35a, composed in 1895 and inscribed "To the memory of Tchaikovsky."

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Earsense: String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op.35/35a

I imagine that most if not all of you already know this quartet, and what makes it unique: in its original form, it is played by the unusual combination of two cellos, one viola, and one violin. But apparently the publisher had a vision one night, seeing over a hundred years into the future, to a time when the greatest musical minds in the world would meet every week to discuss string quartets (by some strange magic as they all remain home on opposite sides of the earth). And that to make doubly sure this work would be suitable for this forum, he asked Arensky to write a second version for the traditional string quartet lineup. Hence the alternative 35a.

The work is in three parts: An elegy with a theme that will recur throughout the work, a set of seven variations on a song by Tchaikovsky ("Legend"), and then a finale that includes a folk tune you'll recognize from Beethoven's 2nd Razumovky quartet.

To play this work, you need to be an ensemble with enough flexibility to field the unusual lineup, like the Nash (linked below, and I'll tell you right now this is the best album cover of the week).

OR you need to throw together a pickup team of capable soloists, as was done for the all-Arensky Spectrum Concerts Berlin, recorded live by Naxos in 2014.

OR you need to find the 35a alternative score and hope it works just as well for a traditional quartet, as was recorded by both the Ying Quartet on Sono Luminus and the Lajtha Quartet on Marco Polo.

I'm very much looking forward to your thoughts on whether the original version outshines the alternative, and of course on this work as a whole. I think this is definitely one quartet that wears its heart on its sleeve, for better or worse. If you've never heard it before (or haven't visited it in a while), I hope you enjoy it!





 
#4,358 ·
Not only have I not heard it (or heard of it), but the composer is virtually new to me as well - I think I heard one of his piano trios once a couple years ago and remember liking it but for some reason didn't explore further. Fantastic choice! BTW, why haven't more composers messed around with the orthodox SQ combination? Even the most radical modern composers we've done were at least respectful of the hallowed format.
 
#4,360 ·
Absolutely. It's tough enough for a living composer to get their music played as it is (few other professions involved having to compete with dead people to get a job). Going too far afield with novel instrumentation is a great way to languish in obscurity, something that already happens to far too many worthy composers.

I've encountered Arensky's music in one or two other occasions (piano trios for sure), but I don't think I've ever heard the 2nd String Quartet. Nice choice!
 
#4,363 · (Edited)


(There's a small genius moment later in this scene when Nigel pauses in the middle of his shredding to slightly adjust one of the violin's tuning knobs.)

But all jokes about the unusual instrumentation aside, this is a VERY emotional quartet, with an absolutely killer first two minutes. I almost wish Arensky had committed to a fully dark funeral march in this movement, without trying to brighten things up in a couple of places. I'm interested to know if anyone else agrees with this.
 
#4,366 ·
I really detest the childish abuse of Cyrillic or Greek letters like in that cover above. In that incongruous spelling of "ARENSKY" the first letter corresponds to an L, the second is called "Ya", then follows a Greek sigma (S, it would be a C in Russian) and SKY is all Latin letters. What a mess!

I have one recording of the piece in a Brilliant Classics box "Treasures of Russian chamber music" by the Amsterdam chamber music society. It's with two celli, apparently there exists a version for the standard combination as well. It's a rather original piece although the finale seems a bit tacked on (and has a tune many will comment like Leporello - This sounds familiar!)
 
#4,367 · (Edited)
I have one recording of the piece in a Brilliant Classics box "Treasures of Russian chamber music" by the Amsterdam chamber music society. It's with two celli, apparently there exists a version for the standard combination as well. It's a rather original piece although the finale seems a bit tacked on (and has a tune many will comment like Leporello - This sounds familiar!)
Yes, the Amsterdams play the original Op. 35 on that set. They're another flexible ensemble who can field the unusual lineup (like the Nash, as noted in the intro post, and also the Raphael and the Camerata Tchaikovsky). Otherwise, there have been a half dozen or so other pickup teams assembled to play this original version on record.

The alternative 35a version for traditional quartet has been recorded only by the Yings and the Lajthas, to my knowledge.
 
#4,368 ·
Never heard of the composer before and just listened to the Nash recording on the link provided. This is totally addictive. The dark sonority is glorious, great tunes, fantastic rhythms especially in some of the variations and in the final coda. I also think that the three movements fit together very well. My chamber music guide that cares to mention Arensky (the other doesn't) says that this piece stands out among an otherwise quite bland output.

In terms of tunefulness and beauty of sound, this is definitely the double-cream variety. However, it has enough contrapuntal writing to demonstrate that the composer knew his craft beside creating great soundscapes. This is maybe the one slight weakness. These bits do sound a little bit as if he meant to do just that: demonstrate that he could write a decent fugue or develop a motif, i.e. they come off as a bit academic. Despite this tiny bit of carping, I found this a deeply satisfying listening experience. On another day I will listen to a version played by a traditional quartet to see whether the music will hold up. Looking forward to that.
 
#4,369 ·
After listening to the alternate version, I highly recommend that you come back to the original as recorded here:

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Ironically, I see that you live in Berlin! It was recorded at the Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal in 2014, featuring a quartet of Russian soloists, and this is my favorite, even over the always dependable Nash. (I'm waiting to see if Merl agrees with me!)
 
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