Cherubini: String Quartets 2 & 5

On this CD:

1. String quartet No.2, in C major
Composed by Luigi Cherubini

2. String quartet No.5, in F major
Composed by Luigi Cherubini

Customer Reviews:

Hausmusik Has Modest & Respectable Merits in Cherubini's Quartets, but Competing Sets Have More to Offer to Amazon's Customers.......2007-04-05

Going on a sort of weeks-long Cherubini string quartet "binge", comparing complete sets of the composer's multi-movement numbered quartets, in the three integral performances of all of these works on record, gives rise to some observations about the music itself and the recorded renditions thereof. The works are enchanting and never-failing in inventiveness; it is hard to get those many quirky melodies, harmonies, incredible rhythmic vitality (in all of the parts, Cherubini's part-writing being so wonderfully vital and interesting for every instrument), tangy and/or odd harmonies, and clever (sometimes wonderfully strange yet utterly convincing!) modulations out of the head. Luigi Cherubini's string quartets, for those unfamiliar with works composed for Paris in the "quatuor concertant" manner, are quite distinct in style from the more familiar Viennese quartets of the composer's contemporaries Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Hummel. These works of Luigi Cherubini above all emphasise wit, rhythmic verve, and virtuousity alike in string playing and difficult ensemble unity; indeed, Cherubini composed all of his works for string quartet and for string quintet to feature the virtuoso quartet playing of the greatly skilled string players of Paris' best chamber ensembles of the first half of the 19th century.

A comparison is in order for the Hausmusik's and Quartetto David's complete sets (the latter group's recordings available so far only on three individual discs comprising together all of the six works, rather than also as a set, as is the case with the alternative choices as separate discs or set for Hausmusik's performances). Listening to them, and relistening to them side-by-side, does make this listener even more convinced of the superiority of the Quartetto David's performances, which are much bolder and live up with more daring verve, "no holds barred", to the really radical elements in Cherubini's chamber music writing without holding back. The Hausmusik performances are too timid; the group is rhythmically precise and alive, all right (in music difficult to play with unanimous ensemble, due to its brilliant difficulties, frequent changes of pace and rhythm, and certain other characteristics, as I know from having tried to participate in playing these works myself, as the ensemble's 'cellist). However, Hausmusik simply does not make enough of the vast and quite dramatic gestures and dynamic contrasts and changes in the music, limitations on Hausmusik's part which stifle these gloriously alive and playful quartets unnecessarily. By contrast, the Quartetto David, as the Melos Quartett of Stuttgart before it, revels in the most vivifying and quirky aspects of Cherubini's chamber music writing that seem to give fright to Hausmusik's members.

However, there is a notable preference to savour for Hausmusik's performance of the second of Cherubini's quartets (in C major), which, for a change, actually benefits from these players' restraint, unlike the damper that Hausmusik too inappropriately applies to the other five works. (As many Amazon users may know, three of the four movements derive from Cherubini's sole symphony in D major, the predominant key of the music's original conception); Quartetto David's thrusting assualts on this work's music, give rise to results too innapropraite for the good of the music of the second quartet, making one think back longingly but innapropriately to the symphony's brilliant orchestration, to the comparative disadvantage of the quartet writing's suavely intimate instrumentation, whereas Hausmusik makes the second string quartet sound more idiomatically like genuine chamber music in scope. (Cherubini's symphony had not been well received during his lifetime and was published only posthumously, and the composer merely made the quartet version as an attempt to give the work a second chance at success, which it achieved, but today the symphony is the better-known version of the music, rightly so.)

Even if the buyer already owns the venerably pioneering and musically still very competitive set of Cherubini's six quartets as the Melos Quartett of Stuttgart performed and recorded them (first released in a boxed LP set, later on CD) for Deutsche Grammophon, it is well worth listening to the music in Quartetto David's recording, and, as a worthy supplement, to Hausmusik's fine recording of the second quartet (which one can obtain without purchasing the entire set, being available coupled with the fifth of these quartets on C.P.O. Schalplatten 999-464-2). Enjoy the music to the full as the Quartetto David renders all of it (which would merit a "5-star evaluation, compared to Hausmusik's "4-star" rating) in the exciting performances that Quartetto David recorded (B.I.S. Grammofon BIS-CD-1003, BIS-CD-1004, and BIS-CD-1005). If the sheer brilliance of Quartetto David's performances makes a listener feel a bit fatigued from the joyously relentless, sheer drive and bravura that they bring to this music, hear the quartets one or two at a time as the Quartetto David presents them, or simply opt for the Melos Quartett's recording, with its fine counter-balancing of energy and refinement to the detriment of neither in this volatile music, that is, if you can locate a copy of their D.G.G. set; Hausmusik's comparatively vitiated and low-key performances are less demanding of the listener's psychic energy as a listening experience, but the music seems to pall a bit too much as they play it, the more so if one listens to all of the quartets at one sitting.

Though it has become difficult to source for purchase in recent years, there are many good reasons to favour the Melos Quartett's recording of Cherubini's string quartets. In fact, the only flaw that besets the Melos Quartett's set overall is the peculiar failure of the Melos musicians to rise to the summits of wit and sublimity inherent in the music of the sixth of these quartets. In that 1837 work in A minor, both Quartetto David and Hausmusik surpass the uncharacteristically limp and flaccid albeit highly competent playing that the Melos Quartett brings to the composer's sixth and final multi-movement work in the form. Otherwise, one could make a good case that the Melos Quartett's recorded set, so far as the first five string quartets are concerned, remains definitive, energetic, humourous, and boldly played, the music's expressive features set in relief as high as that of the Quartetto David's recordings of these works (and, to their credit, of the sixth quartet as well), but without so much of the slashing attacks and brashness that grate on the listener's nerves when these traits at times seem to be too unrelentingly in evidence as the Quartetto David sets them forth. As for the second quartet, the Melos Quartett's performance is grander in scale and more exciting than Hausmusik's pleasingly smaller-scale performance, yet has much of the lilt and equanimity that make Hausmusik's rendition so more preferable to the Quartetto David's distorted rhetoric in the music of this particular work.

"Go for the gusto", as one says, with the Quartetto David's (or Melos Quartett's) high-spirited playing of these works, rather than with the relaxed but ultimately somewhat enervating interpretive profile of Hausmusik.

The "final score" for the three complete sets of Cherubini's string quartets, in a "Desert Isle" competition, would be, tabulating work-by-work, for the sake of those collectors whose finances really can cope with the purchase of multiple performances of this repertoire:

Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5: Melos Quartett of Stuttgart
No. 2: Melos Quartett of Stuttgart, but with an enthusiastic "special mention" for Hausmusik, for its convincingly alternative approach in this problematic work
No. 6: Quartetto David

Schumann: Piano Quintet, String Quartets 1, 2 & 3 - Christian Zacharias, Cherubini Quartet

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Schumann: Piano Quintet, String Quartets 1, 2 & 3 - Christian Zacharias, Cherubini Quartet

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Kurt Atterberg: The Symphonies (Box Set)
Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs

ASIN: B000EMSIAI
Release Date: 2006-05-02

Tracks:

I. Allegro Brillante
II. In Modo D'una Marcia - Un Poco Largamente
III. Scherzo Molto Vivace
IV. Allegro, Ma Non Troppo
I. Introduzione (Andante Espressivo) - Allegro
II. Scherzo (Presto) - Intermezzo
III. Adagio
IV. Presto

Tracks:

I. Allegro Vivace
II. Andante, Quasi Variazioni
III. Scherzo, Presto
IV. Allegro Molto Vivace
I. Andante Espressivo - Allegro Molto Moderato
II. Assai Agitato - Un Poco Adagio - Tempo Risoluto
III. Adagio Molto
IV. Allegro Molto Vivace

Average customer rating:

Exceptionally charming

String Quartets #1 & 2
Cherubini Quartet
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No1, Op107; Violin Concerto No1 (revised), Op99

ASIN: B000246J6S
Release Date: 2004-01-01

Tracks:

I: Adagio Non Troppo - Allegro Non Tardante
II: Canzonetta (Allegretto) - Piu Mosso
III: Andante Espressivo - Attacca
IV: Molto Allegro E Vivace
I: Adagio - Allegro Vivace
II: Adagio Non Lento
III: Intermezzo (Allegretto Con Moto - Allegro Di Molto)
IV: Presto - Adagio Non Lento

Customer Reviews:

Exceptionally charming.......2007-05-20

These two qaurtets were composed while Mendelssohn was young. The Quartet No. 2 in A minor was composed first, in 1827 while Mendelssohn was 18. The Quartet No. 1 in E flat major was composed two years later in 1829, but was published before the A minor quartet.

Both of these pieces contain melodies and tonal textures that are exceptionally charming. The melodies are songlike or dancelike with the fast movements being somewhat forceful and the slow movements being either light and capricious or thoughtful and reserved. It is in the middle slow movements that the music really shines. The delicate melodies and exquisite balance of tonal texture among the different instruments just reach out and grab the listener. Although both of these quartets bear structural similarities to Beethoven's quartets,in overall aspect and feel they are more like Haydn's.

The Cherubini Quartet plays both pieces with a somewhat light feel that fits the music perfectly. Their playing is well synchronized, in tune, clear and precise. The recordings were made in 1989 and 1990 and the sound is excellent digital that captures the tone and timbre of the instruments very well. The recording is well balanced and all four instruments come through equally clearly.

When I picked this CD up, I was unfamiliar with Mendelssohn's string quartets (he wrote 6 of them). The two youthful efforts on this CD are exceptional compositions. If you like classical or early romantic string quartets, you may wish to give this recording a try. The two compositions on this CD have become some my favorite string quartets not quite ahead of Haydn or the delightful little quartets of Rossini but above the quartets of Beethoven, Borodin, Dvorak, Schubert and others. These quartets by the young Mendelssohn are just plain enjoyable.

Average customer rating:

A Good Entree to Cherubini's String Quartets

Cherubini: String Quartets 2 & 5

Manufacturer: Cpo Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00004R8E8
Release Date: 2000-03-14

Tracks:

Str Qt No.2 in C: Lent-Allegro
Str Qt No.2 in C: Lent
Str Qt No.2 in C: Scherzo. Allegro Assai
Str Qt No.2 in C: Finale. Allegro Vivace
Str Qt No.5 in F: Moderato Assai
Str Qt No.5 in F: Adagio
Str Qt No.5 in F: Scherzo. Allegro Non Troppo
Str Qt No.5 in F: Finale. Allegro Vivace

Customer Reviews:

A Good Entree to Cherubini's String Quartets.......2006-03-14

If you want an entree to the string quartets of Cherubini or if your budget allows for only a representative sampling, this disc may just be the one for you. First of all, it contains (I believe) Cherubini's finest effort in the genre, No. 5. Second, it features an interesting reworking of Cherubini's own undervalued Symphony in D of 1815. Composers of symphonies in this period seem either to be criticized for sounding too much like Beethoven or not enough like Beethoven. Certainly, the latter is the case with Cherubini's only symphony. Why he decided to recast it as a string quartet is unknown (at least I don't know why from what I've read), but the inevitable judgment of his contemporaries was that the darn thing didn't work as a symphony, and he knew it. His solution was to rework it in a form he hoped would be more congenial. Well, that may be. The symphony is certainly more lyrical than Beethoven's or Haydn's generally are, and maybe that cantabile, quasi-operatic approach makes more sense in the guise of a string quartet. In any event, I like this music in both its symphonic and its string-quartet incarnations.

Finding the slow movement of the symphony inappropriate for his string-quartet version, Cherubini created a new slow movement that is interestingly obtuse, as Schumann observed. Its outer sections are emotionally elusive (though based on a lovely melody that Schumann identified as "Provencal"), its middle section fiery and resolute, making for an odd sort of mix. It stays in the mind, though.

The Fifth Quartet has a first movement of classical grace and refinement that recalls Cherubini's fine overture to his opera "Anacreon," and it has a brief slow movement that is almost dainty, especially for Cherubini, who usually prefers the grand manner. This slow movement develops as a series of free variations on a simple melody that grows in stature as the music unfolds. The last two movements have an elegant dash and playfulness about them that recall the Mendelssohn of the Opus 44 Quartets, which the German composer was working on about the same time Cherubini finished his quartet (1837). I'm sure we can't say that one composer influenced the other, so instead, let's chalk it up to the "great minds think alike" phenomenon.

I've read good things about the rival version of the Cherubini quartets from the David Quartet on BIS, but I find Hausmusik just about perfect for the assignment. They capture that Mendelssohnian grace as well as they do the patrician high-Classical manner that is Cherubini's usual stance. Hausmusik makes this music sound every bit as important as I think it is, a meaningful and attractive bridge between the work of Beethoven and the classical Romanticists such as Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brahms.

CPO's recording is big and crisp, nicely resonant without being unduly so.

Mendelssohn: String Quartets No. 3 & 4; Cherubini Quartet

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Mendelssohn: String Quartets No. 3 & 4; Cherubini Quartet
Felix Mendelssohn , and Cherubini Quartet
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000239B8W
Release Date: 2004-07-13

Tracks:

I: Molto Allegro Vivace
II: Menuetto (Un Poco Allegro)
III: Andante Espressivo Ma Con Moto
IV: Presto Con Brio
I: Allegro Assai Appassionato
II: Scherzo (Allegro Di Molto)
III: Andante (Attacca)
IV: Presto Agitato

Luigi Cherubini: String Quartets, Vol. 1

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Luigi Cherubini: String Quartets, Vol. 1

Manufacturer: Bis
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Cherubini: String Quartets Vol. 3

ASIN: B00000JF6T
Release Date: 1999-09-15

Tracks:

I. Adagio-Allegro Agitato
II. Larghetto Sans Lenteur
III. Scherzo. Allegretto Moderato
IV. Finale. Allegro Assai
I. Lento-Allegro
II. Lento
III. Scherzo. Allegro Assai
IV. Finale. Allegro Vivace

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Mendelssohn: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2
Mendelssohn , and Cherubini Quartet
Manufacturer: Emi Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00012SZ18
Release Date: 2004-05-04

Music Track: