The Dutch label Brilliant
Classics has somehow managed to find
the magic combination between production
costs, quality and retail price in the
competitive CD market. First coming
to prominence in the mid-1990s by selling
complete multi-disc sets of works in
a popular Netherlands chain of chemist
shops / drugstores they have moved away
from that type of marketing but maintain
a reputation as a super-budget label.
Surprising then to find that most of
Brilliant’s releases are newly recorded
for the label using some very fine musicians.
These discs may be cheap, and the packaging
and scant booklet notes in English only
reinforce the impression of a budget
product, but the performances and recordings
are about as up-to-date as it is possible
to be.
In this triple disc
set of Beethoven’s glorious Opus 18
quartets the featured artists are the
Sharon Quartet. Maybe they are not a
household name, but their reputation
is large enough to make a serious listen
worthwhile. The quartet combines Western
slickness of presentation with all the
vitality and raw emotional energy of
Eastern European musicians. The opening
movement of the c minor quartet (the
only one of the set in a minor key)
shows this contrast of style and emotion
to its fullest. Beethoven’s rapid changes
of direction in this movement provide
opportunity for passionate outbursts
from the first violin, for lyrical melodic
movement with pulsating viola and cello
and all of this is brought out with
sparkle and wit.
Opus 18 is always described
as being a set of works indelibly stamped
with the influence of Haydn, and this
is apparent at many points. Indeed,
in the fifth quartet in a major the
classical aspects are paramount and
the work is positively Mozartian in
its balance of phrase and elegance of
melodic invention. The filigree work
and high tessitura melodic writing of
the first violin, accompanied by velvety
lower parts is beautifully played. Gil
Sharon’s violin tone throughout is exquisite.
However, in other works of the set The
Sharon Quartet also adopts a view that
is more forward-looking to Beethoven’s
development of the string quartet. This
is not to say that the classical aspects
of the works are underplayed; the minuet
and trio movements of numbers 4 and
5 positively brim with Haydnesque charm,
convincingly portrayed. It is worth
noting that in Opus 18 Beethoven achieved
a set of quartets that are a balanced
group, while also showing the sort of
individuality that was to become such
a clear later hallmark.
The packaging of this
triple disc certainly leaves something
to be desired. The romanticised portrait
of Beethoven peering out of the cover
is repeated no more convincingly inside
the front cover of the booklet. The
booklet notes are reasonably informative
but clearly limited to explaining the
large issues to people totally unfamiliar
with the chamber music genre. These
small issues aside, however, the important
aspects of the disc are good. The performances
are uniformly excellent and the recording
quality is as good as one could find.
For a complete set of the Opus 18 quartets
at a very reasonable price it becomes
hard to justify not getting a set such
as this. Highly recommendable.
Peter Wells
The Sharon Quartet: Gil Sharon, Rodica Ciocoiu
(violins), Georg Haag (viola), Alexander Hülshoff
(’cello)