Mahler: Piano Quartet in A minor (fragment). Schumann: Piano Quartet in E flat major Op. 47. Brahms: Piano Quartet in G minor Op. 25. Daniel Hope, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; David Finckel, cello; Wu Han, piano. DG B0022906 Total Time: 77:26.
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, one of the leading presenters of chamber music in New York City, has been giving concerts in Alice Tully Hall for many years and features performances by a core group of outstanding musicians. The current artistic directors are David Finckel, formerly the cellist of the Emerson Quartet, and his wife the pianist Wu Han. In this fine new DG recording, they are joined by Daniel Hope and Paul Neubauer. All three performances are beautifully thought out and passionately realized. I have several favourite versions of the Brahms G minor Quartet – members of the Amadeus Quartet with Murray Perahia (CBS MK 42361), and a high-powered reading by Argerich-Kremer-Bashmet-Maisky (DG 463 700) – but this new one is nearly as good.
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Beethoven: String Quartets Op. 18 (complete). Jerusalem Quartet. Harmonia Mundi HMC 902207 (2 CDs) Total Time: 153:24.
The Jerusalem Quartet, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this season, has earned a reputation as one of the leading quartets of its generation. They have made at least nine CDs for Harmonia Mundi and with this new release appear to be starting a Beethoven cycle. For comparisons in this repertoire, I always reach for my boxed set of the Beethoven quartets by the Emerson; difficult to believe that its recordings of the Op. 18 quartets are now nearly 20 years old. The Jerusalem Quartet may be a little less polished than the Emerson, but polish is not necessarily what is wanted in this repertoire. In any case, the Jerusalem Quartet offers precise and nuanced playing, as well as a touch of roughness from time to time, which suits the music very well. On the other hand, try comparing the Emerson and the Jerusalem in the final Presto from Op. 18 No. 3. After hearing the Emerson tear through it like a house on fire, the Jerusalem seems to be playing it at half-speed.
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Schulhoff: String Quartet No. 1; Esquisses de Jazz. Dvořák: String Quartet in G major Op. 106. Ragazze Quartet. Channel Classics CCS SA 36815 Total Time: 65:00.
The four young ladies who make up the Ragazze Quartet play with even more abandon than the members of either the Jerusalem or the Emerson. The Ragazze is probably most like the Kronos Quartet in its eagerness to expand the repertoire and to play ‘out of the box.’ On this CD, they combine music by two very different Czech composers. Erwin Schulhoff was inspired by Janáček and Berg but managed to find a path of his own. His promising career was tragically cut short when he died in a concentration camp in 1942, at the age of 48.
Schulhoff’s String Quartet No. 1 (1924) is fiery and entertaining and played with total commitment by the Ragazze Quartet. Also included on the disc are some charming jazz pieces by Schulhoff, originally composed for piano and arranged for the ensemble by Leonard Evers.
The Ragazze Quartet is equally at home in Dvořák’s late String Quartet Op. 106, one of least played of Dvořák’s quartets, which nonetheless repays close listening and repeated hearings.
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Shostakovich: Piano Quintet in G minor Op. 57. String Quartet No. 2 in A major Op. 68. Marc-André Hamelin, piano. Takács Quartet. Hyperion CDA67987 Total Time: 70:24.
The Takács Quartet has been around for 40 years, a remarkable length of time for any ensemble. While there have been some personnel changes over the years, the group has remained among the very best of string quartets. Two of its present members, second violinist Károly Schranz and cellist András Fejér, have been with the ensemble since its inception. In this new Hyperion CD, they are joined by Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin in a superb performance of the Shostakovich Piano Quintet. As everyone knows by now, Hamelin can play anything and seems to know the entire piano repertoire. He is especially intense here, working his magic on an excellent Steinway. In the composer’s String Quartet No. 2 as well, the Takács is in top form.
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