I. Allegro semplice
II. Presto agitato
III. Allegro con fuoco
IV. Adagio
V. Moderato commodo
VI. Andante maestoso
Weinberg's 6th String Quartet, which was written in 1945, has six movements. The first of these is an Allegro Semplice that begins with a simple folk-like, distinct melody and accompaniment followed by a long section featuring the violin and viola and some firm then delicate pizzicati. The atmosphere of the movement changes when the cello enters the fray. The music becomes more thoughtful here as the first violin starts to dominate. The melancholic theme returns aggressively after the development before moving into a texturally sparser passage where the cello comes back to prominence. Eventually the movement ends gently. The Locrian mode, which permeates the piece, is introduced in this opening movement.
The 2nd movement, Presto agitato, is much shorter and more frenzied and insistent, never letting it's grip go. The mood is stormy and is dignified by "rapid semiquaver movement" but with a regular pulse. Descending triplets create further agitation and unrest and this movement should be played attaca with the next one.
The 3rd movement, Allegro con fucco, is very brief but the music here is darker and daunting with the opening material raided from the 2nd movement, This music is extended by solo first violin passages and provides a short link between the previous and subsequent movements.
The 4th movement, Adagio, has a lovely solo violin at the beginning. With its fugato styling, the other instruments soon filter in, bringing with them a lighter mood and textures. The theme is darkened before a restatement of the candenza passage from the previous movement. Gradually the music fractures and there's a different, quieter texture before a superb ending.
The 5th movement, Moderato commodo has some nice Schubertian interplay and begins on the 1st violin playing a recurring motif whilst the rest of the ensemble goes through dynamic shifts. There's a distinctive motif from the cello accompanied by the other instruments providing the harmony. Dynamic variation comes from some fine, sforzando pizzicato chords on the viola.
The 6th movement, finale, is a tense Andante with strong harmonic content. With its descending chords there's fine colours here. Weinberg uses some familiar ideas of his here such as fierce pizzicato chords in accompaniment, harmonised melodies and chromatic shifts. The first violin commands proceedings initially before the cello starts to dominate during a slow section with a distinctive motif. The music returns to the tenser beginning for a longer passage with plenty of chromatic material and it all ends in almost cheeky fashion amongst recalled themes.
After finishing his 6th Quartet, Weinberg didn't write another quartet until a decade later. Despite rare performances after it's completion, the work gained a level of notoriety and was later banned as being "too bold". Thankfully, we now have a handful of recordings to listen to, all of which are of at least good quality.
Whilst the Danel Quartet impressed me in their account of the 3rd quartet I really don't think they reach those heights here. They sound a little cloudy, unsure and congested in passages and although there's some lovely moments (in their broader but sympathetic adagio, for instance) they aren't as keenly attuned to the twists and turns of the music as others and so whilst this can be recommended you can do much better with the recordings below, which put this one in the shade.
The Pacifica Quartet recorded their performance as part of their Shostakovich 'Soviet Experience' cycle and they make a damn fine job of this work. Ensemble is very tight and this impressive recording has enough grunt and punch to convince. Their playing in the 3rd movement Allegro is a high-point for me put they are persuasive across the board and there's not much between this and my recordings of choice.
However, as good as the Pacifica are, Poland's Silesian Quartet are tremendous in this music. They voice each movement just right and have a lovely, tight, dynamic sound, aided by quite superb recorded sound from the Accord engineers. The whole account is immediate, vital and my joint favourite amongst the current releases The Arcadia Quartet have the newest recording around and it's delivered in similarly brilliant fashion to the Silesian. Their tone is different but they have a firm grasp of this work structurally and whilst not as sinewy as the Poles they conjure up some delightful textures and it's all delivered in terrific Chandos sound. Whichever of these 3 exceptional top drawer recordings you prefer you won't be dissatisfied. They are all top quality.
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II. Presto agitato
III. Allegro con fuoco
IV. Adagio
V. Moderato commodo
VI. Andante maestoso
Weinberg's 6th String Quartet, which was written in 1945, has six movements. The first of these is an Allegro Semplice that begins with a simple folk-like, distinct melody and accompaniment followed by a long section featuring the violin and viola and some firm then delicate pizzicati. The atmosphere of the movement changes when the cello enters the fray. The music becomes more thoughtful here as the first violin starts to dominate. The melancholic theme returns aggressively after the development before moving into a texturally sparser passage where the cello comes back to prominence. Eventually the movement ends gently. The Locrian mode, which permeates the piece, is introduced in this opening movement.
The 2nd movement, Presto agitato, is much shorter and more frenzied and insistent, never letting it's grip go. The mood is stormy and is dignified by "rapid semiquaver movement" but with a regular pulse. Descending triplets create further agitation and unrest and this movement should be played attaca with the next one.
The 3rd movement, Allegro con fucco, is very brief but the music here is darker and daunting with the opening material raided from the 2nd movement, This music is extended by solo first violin passages and provides a short link between the previous and subsequent movements.
The 4th movement, Adagio, has a lovely solo violin at the beginning. With its fugato styling, the other instruments soon filter in, bringing with them a lighter mood and textures. The theme is darkened before a restatement of the candenza passage from the previous movement. Gradually the music fractures and there's a different, quieter texture before a superb ending.
The 5th movement, Moderato commodo has some nice Schubertian interplay and begins on the 1st violin playing a recurring motif whilst the rest of the ensemble goes through dynamic shifts. There's a distinctive motif from the cello accompanied by the other instruments providing the harmony. Dynamic variation comes from some fine, sforzando pizzicato chords on the viola.
The 6th movement, finale, is a tense Andante with strong harmonic content. With its descending chords there's fine colours here. Weinberg uses some familiar ideas of his here such as fierce pizzicato chords in accompaniment, harmonised melodies and chromatic shifts. The first violin commands proceedings initially before the cello starts to dominate during a slow section with a distinctive motif. The music returns to the tenser beginning for a longer passage with plenty of chromatic material and it all ends in almost cheeky fashion amongst recalled themes.
After finishing his 6th Quartet, Weinberg didn't write another quartet until a decade later. Despite rare performances after it's completion, the work gained a level of notoriety and was later banned as being "too bold". Thankfully, we now have a handful of recordings to listen to, all of which are of at least good quality.
Whilst the Danel Quartet impressed me in their account of the 3rd quartet I really don't think they reach those heights here. They sound a little cloudy, unsure and congested in passages and although there's some lovely moments (in their broader but sympathetic adagio, for instance) they aren't as keenly attuned to the twists and turns of the music as others and so whilst this can be recommended you can do much better with the recordings below, which put this one in the shade.
The Pacifica Quartet recorded their performance as part of their Shostakovich 'Soviet Experience' cycle and they make a damn fine job of this work. Ensemble is very tight and this impressive recording has enough grunt and punch to convince. Their playing in the 3rd movement Allegro is a high-point for me put they are persuasive across the board and there's not much between this and my recordings of choice.
However, as good as the Pacifica are, Poland's Silesian Quartet are tremendous in this music. They voice each movement just right and have a lovely, tight, dynamic sound, aided by quite superb recorded sound from the Accord engineers. The whole account is immediate, vital and my joint favourite amongst the current releases The Arcadia Quartet have the newest recording around and it's delivered in similarly brilliant fashion to the Silesian. Their tone is different but they have a firm grasp of this work structurally and whilst not as sinewy as the Poles they conjure up some delightful textures and it's all delivered in terrific Chandos sound. Whichever of these 3 exceptional top drawer recordings you prefer you won't be dissatisfied. They are all top quality.
Merl's Blogged String Quartet and String Quintet...
As some of you are aware I started blogging my recommended string quartet recordings a while back as I didn't want to lose them in the Weekly String Quartet thread. However, blogging on TC has many limitations and there was no way to link all my posts in one place without the page disappearing...
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