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Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34 (1864) [40:10]
String Quartet in A minor, Op. 51, No. 2 (c.1868-73) [33:11]
Stephen Hough
(piano)
Takács Quartet: (Edward Dusinberre (violin I); Károly Schranz
(violin II); Geraldine Walther (viola); András Fejér (cello))
rec. St. George’s, Brandon Hill, Bristol, 21-24 May 2007. DDD HYPERION CDA67551 [73:19]
This is the second
disc the Takács Quartet has recorded for Hyperion and also their
second recording with Geraldine Walther as violist. Earlier they
recorded the Schubert 13th and 14th quartets
(see review).
As readers will likely know, the original Takács
Quartet, formed in 1975, was composed of four Hungarians with
Gábor Takács-Nagy
as first violin - hence the quartet’s name - and Gábor Ormai
on viola. In 1993 Edward Dusinberre replaced Takács-Nagy and
two years later Roger Tapping replaced Ormai. So, the quartet
lost some of its Hungarian identity and became bi-national with
the addition of the British members. In both of these earlier
incarnations they recorded a broad repertoire for Decca. Their
cycle of the Beethoven quartets received great acclaim. They
also recorded the Brahms quartets and the quintet with András
Schiff as pianist. In 2005, the American Geraldine Walther replaced
Tapping as violist and the quartet became truly international.
With this latest change in personnel, they switched recording
companies and now record for Hyperion. Over the years they have
remained one of the world’s premier chamber ensembles. That they
continue to produce exciting music is witnessed by this latest
release.
There have been plenty
of fine recordings of the Brahms Piano Quintet. My introduction
to the work was with the venerable Budapest String Quartet and
Rudolf Serkin. The recent competition includes a recording by
the Emerson with Leon Fleisher (DG) and an even newer one by
the Artemis with Leif Ove Andsnes. Michael Cookson (seereview)
found Fleisher’s performance rather leaden, but praised the Emerson
in both the quartets and quintet. The Takács bring out the impetuosity
of the work and treat it as the composition of a young composer
that it is. At first glance, their timing may seem longer than
normal; this is because they take the repeat in the first movement,
which adds an extra three minutes. Overall, the tempos are in
the normal range. However, Stephen Hough and the quartet have
more flexible tempi and a greater dynamic range than, say, the
excellent Kodály Quartet with Jenö Jandó on Naxos. Hough’s piano
is well integrated in the recording and he plays as one among
equals, without soloistic grandstanding. Like the Budapest of
yore, the Takács are not afraid to sacrifice perfect intonation
occasionally to their expressive ends. In the third movement
Scherzo the music positively flies off their bows and they relax
ever so slightly for the Trio. Their interpretation of the last
movement also plays up the work’s contrasts and really takes
off at the final Presto non troppo. This is as exciting
a version of the work as is available and the disc is made all
the more attractive by its coupling. The smoother performance
by the Kodály should not be ignored, however, especially as it
is accompanied by an equally good recording of the Schumann,
a more usual disc-mate.
Brahms’s Quartet
No. 2 is for me the most approachable of his three works in the
genre. It brings out his lyrical side more than the other two.
Take, for example, the first movement’s second subject, the whole
second movement and the third movement’s quasi-minuet main section.
Here Brahms’s lyricism is given full measure. Then the finale
contrasts with what has gone before; its energetic dance-like
character ends the work with real vivacity. Geraldine Walther’s
viola is particularly eloquent in this movement. Again the Takács
play the first movement repeat, something that cannot be taken
for granted. In many ways, this performance reminded me of the
old Budapest Quartet recording form the 1960s, by duly emphasizing
the lyrical while not neglecting the dramatic. It is a tremendous
performance and one that sets the seal on a great disc. I assume
the Takács will be recording the other two quartets in the near
future. I had the privilege of hearing them perform the first
quartet recently at the Barns at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia.
Judging from that white-hot account, their recording will be
something to await eagerly.
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