Janácek: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2
composed by Leoš Janáček, 1854-1928; produced by Johann Nikolaus Matthes, fl. 1977; performed by Alban Berg Quartet (Warner Music, 2005), 44 mins
Details
- Field of Interest
- Classical Music
- Composer
- Leoš Janáček, 1854-1928
- Content Type
- Music recording
- Duration
- 44 mins
- Ensemble
- Alban Berg Quartet
- Format
- Audio
- Sub Genre
- String Quartet
- Label
- Warner Music
- UPC (Physical)
- 724355545725
- Producer
- Johann Nikolaus Matthes, fl. 1977
- Date Recorded
- 1993
- Release Date
- 2005-11-28
- Review
- Leos Janácek probably wrote the two weirdest string quartets in the standard repertoire. The first, the "Kreutzer Sonata," is based on Tolstoy's novelette of sexual jealousy and multiple murders, and the second, "Intimate Letters," is based on the composer's own passionate but plutonic affair with a much younger woman, and they are surely among the most powerfully expressive and frankly dramatic quartets ever written. Written in Janácek's typical obsessive-compulsive brand of rhythms, textures, and themes, the two quartets test any group's ability to get not only into the notes but beneath them. Though many quartets have recorded the works over the past 50 years, usually only the Czech or Slovak groups get the quartets' tone of barely controlled hysteria right. Most non-Czech or Slovak groups tend either to over or under do the hysteria, and the results are unappealing at best and appalling at worst.
The Melos Quartett of Stuttgart recorded both works for France's Harmonia Mundi label in 1991, and this 2008 HM Gold re-release is the same disc with different packaging. As performances, they are neither unappealing nor appalling, but neither do they quite get the tone right. The Stuttgart players have a big tone, a slashing attack, a ready grasp of form, a strong sense of tempo, and a tight but flexible ensemble, and it clearly has something to say about the music. But the rhythms here sound just a bit offbeat, the textures a tad too heavy, the tone a shade too raw, and while these are powerful performances, they are not altogether persuasive. Still, for their forceful playing and for Harmonia Mundi's close, hot digital sound, this disc is worth hearing by anyone who admires Janácek's quartets. ~ James Leonard, All Music Guide - Subject
- Classical Music, Music & Performing Arts, 20th Century, Siglo XX, Século XX, 20th century
- Keywords and Translated Subjects
- Siglo XX, Século XX