This means that throughout this piece, the Belcea’s players are more reserved than some. Turn to the Pavel Haas Quartet and you’d get a high octane maintained in the rest of the movement with some effort. From the opening bars of the First Quartet (“Kreutzer Sonata”), the dramatic contrasts between the higher voices and the cello are done directly, with no fuss. the Belcea offers here a “classical”, transparent look of these pieces, without losing any of the urgency and vitality of the music. This is the second time around the Belcea are recording these pieces, but at the time this review is published, the old version in not available for purchase nor streaming. Janáček’s two String Quartets are another masterpieces shamefully underrepresented in the catalog, though with some very fine proponents (some listed below). A shame though that the producers have chosen to keep the entire piece as a single track, and not split into movements. It’s certainly the highlight of this album. It will, hopefully, make more listeners appreciate this music. Compared to other fine accounts in the catalog, mainly the Hagen quartet, this is one of the best currently available. The transition to the final movement at around 20:00 is nothing but chilling, with the members use the hushed tremolo to a mesmerizing effect. Listen, for instance, to the sound effects at around 08:30 onward, or to the almost orchestral writing at 11:00. The Belcea, as they proved in their much celebrated Bartók String Quartets cycle, are fully attuned to the many sides of Ligeti’s writing. Fondly referred to as “Bartók’s seventh quartet”, it goes even beyond the master’s six quartets and produces an almost orchestral sound world, along with a Bartókian motivic exploration and a Shostakovichian rhythmic vitality and sense of irony. The two String Quartets contained in this album is surely a new, interesting take on these masterpieces.īut first, we have to touch Ligeti’s First String Quartet which closes this album. How do you like your Janáček? The Czech composer still remains a bit of a mystery to audiences and performances alike, shamefully standing in the shadow of many other of his contemporaries.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |