| Site review by Polly Nomial June 17, 2008
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Performance: Sonics (MC): |
Like their opening volume in this cycle, the Mandelring Quartett pair a "named" quartet with a much earlier work and again, open with the more mature opus.
The "Rosamunde" quartet by Schubert is the first of his 3 great quartets (although the Quartettsatz should probably be added to this number) and like the last of these 3, strikes an uneasy balance between sadness and joy (erring on the melancholic view of the world). Playing with a disarmingly direct approach, the bitter-sweet world view was heart-rendering in its beauty and simplicity. The Mandelring Quartet are almost superhuman in their perfection technically, tonally and also musically. Here their special quality of unanimity of attack and phrasing allows melodies to extend from the depths of the cello to the heights of the violins without a gasp of (musical) breath. Welcome respite normally is attached to the slow movement (using music from the play Rosamunde) but the undercurrent of melancholy prevalent in so much Schubert was allowed to rear its head positively albeit sensitively in the Mandelring's hands. The Minuet then returns to a more world-weary frame of mind with fleeting, joyous escapism in the trio that was rendered oh-so-sweetly by all. The slightly strange finale with the sudden end (just as I was hoping despite my better knowledge that there was yet another harmonic and/or melodic detour up Schubert's sleeve) was pointed to perfection, allowing the integration of the Hungarian gypsy dance-like music into a formal framework without a hint of awkwardness. As with the volume one, for the most part, the rubato employed is within each phrase, allowing the continuity of music to be unhindered.
The "early" quartet is numbered as 11 in his output and is the last before the long chronological gap that precedes the Quartettsatz and the "Rosamunde" quartet. Taken at face value, the Mandelring never seek to find hidden emotional depths, the quartet becomes a very pleasant (if not especially memorable) listen indeed.
Having heard the quartet play the Rosamunde in concert, I can confirm that the sound conferred by Audite is astonishingly lifelike - a tribute to their "back room staff". Some may feel that the sound is not immediate enough nor is it possible to sound so gorgeous at all times; all I can say is that the Mandelring Quartett is very honestly represented here. Their golden tone is delightful in concert and is more than adequately reproduced here.
Highly recommended.
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Copyright © 2008 John Broggio and SA-CD.net
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| Review by krisjan January 27, 2006 (5 of 7 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (S): |
This SACD is a disappointment primarily from a sonic standpoint. The performances of both works are adequate but nothing really special. They convey the music decently but there is nothing that really pulls you in. The Rosamunde quartet (#13 in Scubert's canon) is a masterpiece in the quartet literature and its always good to rehear this work. The Manderlings adopt middle-of-the-road tempi with good ensemble work throughout. I thought that some attacks were a bit muted but that may be the sound (more on that below). The other quartet is one of his earlier efforts and it suffers mightily in the company of the Rosamunde. Not a work that one would return to very often in light of all the great other quartets available.
The sound is very mediocre (at best). They are forthright in the booklet noting it is a 88/24 pcm recording and it sounds like it. Also, it seems to have been recorded in an overly resonant acoustic (or, even worse, may have add artifical reverb added). The instruments simply lack "woodiness". I attribute it to the pcm recording (or poor microphones/placement). So, overll, not recommended.
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| Review by andrewb June 12, 2007 (7 of 7 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (MC): |
A truly delightful performance by the Mandelring Quartet, they give a refined and civilised account of the principal quartet D804 where repeated hearings certainly increase ones pleasure and understanding of the music.
Unlike some accounts given by other quartets, the Mandelrings do not over indulge in the pathos of certain sections of the “Rosamunde” quartet - take the opening bars of the first movement allegro, the Italian quartet play these moments with greater intensity but when this fades it leads to a lessening interest in the following sections. The Mandelring Quartet maintain a much finer balance and interest throughout the movement and the quartet as a whole, through their avoidance of excessive emotion at individual points thus leading to a much more satisfying reading that gives, overall, a more sustained and heartfelt effect.
This balance and restraint provides an extremely fine architectural structure for each movement, whereas lesser readings can seem to be a series of disconnected themes, and individual details can here be clearly heard and held in context.
Also remarkable is the ensemble with which the Mandelrings play, as fine as any quartet that I have heard. The cellist, first and second violinists are siblings and have played together as a family unit and as a string quartet for many years, now with the violist, Roland Glassl. Together these family ties and years of practice with one another have given the quartet an amazing ability to interplay with each other as the music unfolds, leading to magical insights for the listener. This interplay coupled with the most delicate phrasing and colouring, which is given to each of the complex sections within the A minor quartet, allows the Mandelrings to perfectly illustrate the mystery and enchantment of Schubert’s music.
The Quartet in E major (D353) which is from Schubert’s youth, was composed at the age of nineteen, although lacking in interest compared to the A minor quartet it is here played equally as finely, although with an obviously much more light hearted feel.
The one disappointment of the disc is the sound quality, which is not as good as that on the Mandelring’s two Shostakovich discs to date – with the Schubert here, the strings, particularly the violins, have a dry and slightly hard quality when compared with the best string quartet recordings on SACD. It is particularly important with this disc to get the playback sound level right so as to get a good image and hear the detail but without hearing an unpleasant edge to the violins. It maybe that this slight hardness is not a fault of the recording, the recording hall is the same as on the Shostakovich discs, as is the equipment and the producer, perhaps the Mandelrings wanted to present this type of sound in the Schubert. Whichever it is, the ear adapts to this slight hardness of the sound and one only delights in the music, like any great performance this one transcends small imperfections in the recorded sound.
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