The Loewenguth is a quartet that will be remembered with admiration
by many. Founded back in 1929 by Alfred Loewenguth, when competition
from other native
French groups was tough, it slowly gained ground, making its first North American
tour in 1945. Their early recorded metier in the 1930s and 40s was Mozart and
Beethoven; after which they were taken up by DG and then a raft of labels including
Vox, prominently, and Philips and Westminster amongst others. Their discography
is pretty extensive and includes 78 sets as well as LPs. The final item in this
three CD set, for instance, the Mozart Dissonance Quartet, was a six sided
78 set made at the end of the War.
This Doremi offering delves into their Classical repertoire and is entirely given
over to performances of Haydn and Mozart made over a period of just over a quarter
of a century. One work is reprised. The Dissonance already alluded to
was recorded again in 1972 by which time the Quartet had undergone, apart from
its primarius, a complete changeover. Gone were Maurice Fueri, violist Roger
Roche and cellist Pierre Basseux. In truth the heyday of the quartet was long
gone.
That early 78 performance attests to the natural rhythmic impetus of the group.
It’s a fine entrée to their playing which has a rhythmic freedom
and requisite sense of colour. Or it would; we shall have to infer it because
unfortunately too much noise reduction has rendered it very dull sounding indeed.
The deadly sound of a rumbling computer attests to what’s gone on. Their
1972 performance is broader and perhaps more imposing; it’s certainly more
explicitly intense. This disc, the last of the three, also includes a 1950 recording
for DG of Haydn’s Op.64 No.5 quartet. This still contained the then established
members of the quartet and is an index of their assurance in the repertoire.
I have not heard the LP from which it derives so am making assumptions but I
am sure the transfer could do with a significant treble boost. It’s a
dull sounding affair, though not nearly as bad as the 78.
The trio of Mozart performances enshrined in disc two - K387, K428 and K458
- were made for DG (K458) and Allegro in 1950-51. The playing is refined and
elegant,
though they don’t hesitate to point up the dissonances in K428. It’s
very different ensemble playing to that cultivated by, say, the Calvet or the
Bouillon, to take two near contemporaneous French groups who also recorded extensively.
But it is impressive and admirable playing, and one’s enjoyment is only
limited by the actual sound which is once again consticted. Two Haydn Quartets
appear on the first disc in recordings made c.1958 by which time Jacques Gotkovsky
had replaced second violin Maurice Fueri and Roger Loewenguth had ascended to
the cello chair. Their Op.76 No.2 is quite robust and there’s some real
no-nonsense chording in the opening of Op.74 No.3. They play its finale with
brio but not always absolute precision; the playing is somewhat less clearly
refined than in the earlier incarnation. To conclude there’s an engaging
and mellifluous Quintet for Clarinet and Strings with Georgina Dobrée
from c.1972.
This is a difficult one to assess. In its favour Doremi has cleverly kept off
Franco-Belgian repertoire - their Franck, Debussy and Fauré for instance
are well known - and the Mozart and Haydn performances are valuable and the
group is estimable. But the transfers are unsympathetic.
Jonathan Woolf
Loewenguth Quartet members
1st violin: Alfred Loewenguth (all)
2nd violin: Maurice Fueri (Mozart - K387, 428, 458,
465#; Haydn - 64/5) Philippe Langlois (Mozart - K465*, 581)
Jacques Gotkovsky (Mozart
-
; Haydn -
74/3, 76/2)
Viola: Jean-Claude Dewaele (Mozart - K465*, 581) Roger
Roche (Mozart
- K387, 428, 458,
465#; Haydn - 64/5, 74/3, 76/2)
Cello:
Roger Loewenguth (Mozart - K465*, 581; Haydn - 74/3, 76/2) Pierre Basseux (Mozart
-K387, 428, 458,
465#; Haydn - 64/5)
Recording details
Mozart
K387: rec. 1951. Source: Allegro AL 26
K458: rec. 1950. Source DG 18 315
K465*: rec. live , c.1972. Source DQL 501
K465#:
c.1945. Source: Gramophone DB 11120/1/2
K581:
rec. live , c.1972. Source DQL 501
Haydn
Op. 64/5: rec. 1950. Source DG 18 315
Op. 74/3: rec. c.1958. Source: fono-ring FGLP 77 626
Op. 76/2:
rec. c.1958. Source: fono-ring FGLP 77 626
Georgina Dobrée (clarinet)
