|
Site review by Polly Nomial August 22, 2008
|
Performance: Sonics (MC): |
A wonderful disc from a recently formed quartet (2006).
Starting with one of Haydn's lesser known counterparts from the same collection as the Emperor, the Engegård players embark on a bracing reading. Unlike previous publishers of the quartet, their edition labels the slow movement "Lento ma non troppo: Cantabile e mesto"; the crucial words "ma non troppo" are not included in the widely used Peters edition which accounts for the apparent haste that some might assume from a glance at timings. It is true that the first movements Allegro is quick but only to differentiate it from the preceding Allegretto. The Menuetto is taken at a pace that anyone schooled in HIP would be comfortable with but again is quicker than previous generations of quartet would expect to play this music. The concluding Finale is truly Presto and one wonders at the articulation and ensemble of the Engegård Quartet - not to mention that they are fully alive to the markings of Haydn and relay the (ever present) humour with grace. That said, the approach is not HIP as can be experienced on both modern and older instruments - this will be a benefit to some, to others a disappointment; there were times when changes of position came dangerously close to a portamento...
The quartet of Leif Solberg is an attractive composition that combines Romanticism with Norwegian folk melodies in a conventional four movement structure. As the notes make clear, the Engegård have performed this to Solberg and their approach fully meets his approval. Whilst it is not strikingly memorable, the work is a pleasant listen and far from the esoteric constructs that some composers feel driven to use. At times, the shadow of Grieg looms large (especially in the second movement) and it is natural for the disc to conclude with the solitary output for the medium of the more famous Norwegian. The Grieg work makes use of compositional devices similar to the Haydn, thus combining the musical strands of the disc together.
The Engegård players vividly respond to the music of both Solberg and Grieg - one could not tell from their attitude in playing which work is more likely to be remembered down the centuries. Opening with a dramatic introduction, the first movement of the Grieg soon develops into a frenetic Allegro before a reflective Romanze second movement; the high emotional contrasts are realised with great sensitivity and drama as required to make a thrilling account. The third movement is an Intermezzo that is different from many with the often brutal marcato markings, realised with relish here - the central episode with the folk dance is magical - few play with such stylish abandon as heard here and perhaps captures the mood of the whole enterprise. Following a short Lento introduction, the Finale is a scintillating Saltarello that is reminiscent of that used in Mendelssohn's Italian symphony; as before the playing is a marvel - one can scarcely believe that the quartet is only in their 3rd year of existence!
The recording is inevitably going to be somewhat controversial by placing the listener in the centre of the closely presented ensemble - for example, not everyone will want the cello to be behind them and to the right! It has a huge benefit of making all the musical lines extraordinarily transparent to the listener, something that is also true of certain Tacet releases. For those who really don't like this approach to sound, then the stereo layer will allow for a more conventional presentation. I would encourage people to try the surround layer though if possible; the Haydn Finale is really quite an experience in this way but a little more space would have been ideal.
Highly recommended.
|
Copyright © 2008 John Broggio and SA-CD.net
|
|
|
|
Site review by Castor July 16, 2008
|
Performance: Sonics (S/MC): / |
Here is yet another imaginatively planned and beautifully recorded SACD from 2L. The three string quartets featured on this disc strike a winning balance between the classical and the romantic as well as providing a fine showcase for the talents of the Engegård Quartet, an ensemble formed as recently as 2006.
The 5.1 surround DXD recording was taped in a sympathetic acoustic (Jar Church) in October 2007. For the multi-channel mix, 2L have placed the listener in the centre of the players but, whilst welcoming the extra ambience, I much preferred to listen to the 2-channel mix, with the sound coming from the three front speakers, which gives a more natural balance and better blending of the four players. I have no reservations about imaginative uses of the surround channels in orchestral recordings (for example 2L’s recent ‘Divertimento’ disc Divertimenti - TrondheimSolistene ), but for a string quartet? Thanks, however, to the versatility of a hybrid SACD there is a choice available.
Haydn's six Quartets Op. 76, that he composed in the 1790s, are among his finest works, and they have been recorded by many of the greatest quartets of the past. Though not as often heard as those with nicknames (‘Sunrise’, ‘Emperor’ and ‘Fifths’), the D major string quartet is their equal, and when performed as impressively as here, causes one to marvel at the fecundity and modernity of Haydn’s writing. The Engegård quartet’s playing in the unusual variation form of the first movement highlights their complete unanimity of approach in matters of tempo and dynamics, while their tonal richness and coherence makes something very special of the slow movement. The third movement, a curious combination of minuet and trio and scherzo, is elegantly delivered, and who could resist the panache with which Haydn’s scintillating ‘Presto’ finale is despatched.
The String Quartet in B minor of the 94 year old Leif Solberg was written in 1945 and receives its first ever recording here. It is astonishing that such a richly melodic and finely crafted piece should have been overlooked by recording companies for the past 40 years and its addition to the catalogue by 2L further expands one’s knowledge of many Norwegian composers who are virtually unknown outside their own country. Though late-romantic in style, it is written in a four-movement classical form. A lively ‘Allegro’ with clear cut themes is followed by a lovely song-like ‘Andante espressivo’ that includes a central section with a clear folk song influence. A short and witty ‘Scherzo, Allegro’ precedes the fugal finale, and it is here that the multi-channel mix, by placing the listener in the centre of the group, is quite effective, as it makes it possible for the ear to focus with ease on any one of the four string parts. Whether that is how it ought to be heard is a matter for each individual listener to decide.
The first of Grieg’s two string quartets (the second is unfinished) completes the programme. It is a substantial composition, lasting almost twice as long as each of the Haydn and Solberg works, and with its rich textures, sounds almost conceived in orchestral terms (it was much admired by Franz Liszt). Written at a difficult time in Grieg’s life, this dark, and to some extent autobiographical piece, is given a searing performance by the Engegård Quartet. Grieg himself said that the quartet was not “devised to offer musical witicisms in miniature. It strives towards breadth, flight and, most importantly, timbre and colour for the instruments for which it was written”. The combination of 2L’s superb recording and the passionate advocacy of the music by these players without doubt achieves the composer’s stated aims.
This beguiling disc certainly deserves a top recommendation.
|
Copyright © 2008 Graham Williams and SA-CD.net
|
|
|
|
Review by Beagle July 22, 2008 (10 of 10 found this review helpful)
|
Performance: Sonics (S): |
The 2L label certainly has its mojo, DXD, working for it – but it also has freakishly good talents on-tap. If every SACD were this good I’d have to mortgage the farm. With most discs I can’t remember whether I liked them or not – I liked this disc instantly and so much so that I can’t wait to sing its praises. To echo Castor, "This beguiling disc certainly deserves a top recommendation".
THE SOUND
The SACD medium provides only the possibility for beautiful recorded music; most recordings fall short of this potential but some (IsoMike, DXD, Water Lily) continuously amaze and exceed expectations. DXD proves itself again here; the proof is in the pudding and the pudding is delightfully musical, fantastically clear instrument sound. String Quartets form a severe test, since the high strings are easily over-emphatic and even harsh, while the cello may be blurred and the viola virtually inaudible. On this disc the violins are distinct but delightfully sweet, the cello up-front but mellow and the viola miraculously present and accounted for. Recording a quartet, unlike a symphony-of-a-thousand, demands that each instrument be distinct-- and DXD delivers.
THE MUSICIANSHIP
Thanks to the geniuses of 2L, on the other side of their impressive technology lies impressive talent. The Engegårdkvartetten, like the FSQ, is a real discovery. Its primarius and eponymous founder, Arvid Engegård, led the excellent Orlando Quartet* from 1995 to 1999. I am very glad that Juliet Jopling abandoned her career in (shudder!) Economics, to return to her first love, viola. Atle Sponberg, concertmaster of the NRO, graciously plays second fiddle. ‘Gusse’ Gustafsson, the old man here, has thirteen years as cellist of the New Helsinki Quartet – the rest are frightfully young (or else I am frightfully old…). Their music-making, furious and subtle by turns and amazingly ‘inside’ the idiom, has given me actual goose-bumps of delight.
THE MUSIC
An amazing performance on an amazing recording does more than just ‘bring the music home’ – at least here it does something unexpected. Except for the Solberg piece, I thought I knew this music, certainly the Haydn** and especially the Grieg***. But it took this recording to shove my nose in something which now amuses me greatly about Haydn’s nameless Erdödy-Quartetten Nr 5. This is the set which contains The Fifths-, The Emperor- and the Sunrise-Quartet. If you have a bit of musical imagination, I think you can hear a pre-echo in Nr 5 of Sullivan’s “Tit-Willow” tune – G&S’s mock-seriousity suits joker Joe Haydn I think. I have privately dubbed it "The Tit-Willow Quartet".
Solberg's Quartet in B minor, written in 1945 at the age of 31 (30 is the modal age for writing a quartet), strikes me as accomplished but not memorable. It makes good use of the quartet resources and is idiomatically Norwegian, but it fails to acquire an inner life of its own.
Quite oppositely, the Grieg Op. 27 has titanic life – I’ve never heard it rendered so convincingly as here; the Engegårdkvartetten have shoved it up to a higher level in my personal canonical list, i.e. Grieg wrote a better quartet than I had realised, judging from previous recordings (somehow, I’ve never heard this live). Opus 27 is Grieg’s First or Second Quartet, depending on who is doing the counting: he wrote a D minor quartet (now lost) and also a fugue for quartet at age 18. He was 34 when he finished this G minor quartet, but he left a further quartet in F major unfinished when he died at 64. Much is usually made of Grieg’s Norwegian nationalism, but as he wrote to a friend “I will try to … write from the heart, whether it turns out to be Norwegian or Chinese.”. Like quartets by the other ‘nationalist’ composers, Smetana and Janácek, Grieg’s is intensely autobiographical, not folklorish.
______________________
* Now reconstituted as the Párkányi Quartet.
** The Engegårds make quick work of these four movements, 17:37 versus 20:25 for the Lindsays and 20:26 for the Kodály -- were repeats omitted?
*** The pace on the Grieg is fast but not notably so, 33:10 versus 36:51 for Quatuor Arthur-LeBlanc.
|
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
