Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
String Quintet in C, Op.29 (1801/2) [36:35]
String Quintet in c minor, Op.104 (1795, arr.1817) [33:57]
Fugue in D, Op.137 [1:56]
Fine Arts Quartet (Ralph Evans, Efim Boico (violins); Chauncey Patterson (viola);
Wolfgang Laufer (cello)) with Gil Sharon (viola II)
rec. Wittem Monastery Library, The Netherlands, 6–8 October 2008. DDD
NAXOS 8.572221 [72:44]
The Naxos publicity blurb describes the String Quintet in C, Op.29,
as one of the best-kept secrets of the chamber music repertoire. It falls
between the early Op.18 String Quartets and the middle-period works,
Op.59/1-3; it certainly deserves to be better known. It’s coupled here with
Beethoven’s own adaptations for string quintet of his early Piano Trio
in c, Op.1/3, and the short Fugue in D. Whoever it was that said
that Beethoven never wrote a fugue – a distinguished musicologist, as I recall,
long ago on an LP sleeve-note – forgot not only this work and the Große
Fuge but other examples of fugal writing.
The Fine Arts Quartet have already given us some fine Naxos recordings of
Quintets, in company with a second viola player, Danilo Rossi in Mendelssohn
(8.570488), Gil Sharon in Bruckner (8.570788), or with Cristina Ortiz, piano,
in Fauré (8.570938) and Franck (8.572009). Ian Lace made their recording of
the Fauré one of his Recordings of the Year in 2009 – see review.
Oleg Ledeniov – here
– and Kevin Sutton – here
– also praised the Fauré recording. I thought their version of the Franck
well worth having, though I marginally preferred a Hyperion recording and
an earlier Naxos version of these works – see review.
The Bruckner and Mendelssohn recordings have also been highly praised elsewhere.
Their new CD, again with Gil Sharon, complements the earlier Naxos recording
of the Metamorphosis Quintet in the ‘other’ String Quintets, Op.1/2, Op.11
and Op.17, all transcribed by Beethoven’s near-contemporary Carl Khym or Chym
(8.553827). By my reckoning that just leaves the String Quintet in E-flat,
Op.4, which is included on a Dynamic recording of the ‘complete’ String Quintets
(CDS484) and on Thorofon CTH2440, Ensemble Acht, with the Septet. Gary Higginson
described the latter as ‘one of the best recordings I have heard this year’,
though he was a little less convinced by the performances – see review.
In Op.29, the only work which Beethoven originally composed for string quintet,
the new recording is up against very strong competition from the Nash Ensemble
on Hyperion CDA67683, where it is coupled with Op.4. The Nash Ensemble also
offer strong competition in Op.104, coupled with the Piano Quartet in E-flat,
Op.16, on CDA67745.
The Nash Ensemble adopt a faster tempo for the opening allegro moderato
of Op.29, thereby setting the pattern for the work as a whole, where they
consistently undercut the Fine Arts Quartet by up to a minute in the three
longest movements. The Hyperion performance of the opening movement is more
flowing, more lyrical than the Naxos: to make a huge generalisation, where
the Nash players seem to emphasise the work’s relationship with the Op.18
Quartets, the Fine Arts make it seem closer in spirit to the Op.59 works.
Both approaches work well in context; if I express a preference for the Hyperion
CD, the advantage is not great. The differences are least marked in the scherzo
third movement.
In the slow movement – adagio molto espressivo – the slightly slower
Fine Arts tempo works extremely well, the full emotion effectively captured
without any feeling that they are making too much of it. I ceased making detailed
comparisons with the Hyperion recording at this point: there is more than
enough to enjoy in the new Naxos version for it to stand and be recommended
on its own merits.
Both the Naxos and Hyperion recordings are good, with the players not too
close. The Naxos sounds slightly more emphatic, in keeping with the differences
between the two performances.
Op.104, despite its high opus number, is an arrangement of the Piano Trio
No.3, the work with which Beethoven first surprised and shocked the Viennese
public, though it now sounds harmless enough by comparison with the Late Quartets,
which still have the power to take the unwary listener by the throat. Op.1/3
also marked the parting of the ways between Beethoven and Haydn, who had advised
him that he was not yet ready to publish – advice which Beethoven attributed
to jealousy, thereafter proclaiming that he had learned much more from Salieri
than Haydn.
I’m not sure that the quintet arrangement adds anything to the original version,
but the Naxos performance is good enough to do the music justice. Apart from
the third movement, menuetto, where the timings are exactly equal,
they take just a little longer than the Nash Ensemble. Both are excellent
within their individual contexts, though comparisons incline me slightly to
the Hyperion CD in the outer movements, especially in the finale, where the
Nash players come much closer to the prestissimo marking. On the other
hand, I prefer the Naxos in the slow movement – a true andante cantabile
in both cases, despite the apparently large gap between 9:39 (Naxos) and 7:18
(Hyperion). If the Hyperion is closer to my idea of andante, the Naxos
is more cantabile, but there isn’t a great deal to choose. Those who
are expecting to hear what it was about this early work that left the Viennese
musical public so puzzled will probably find the Fine Arts a little too gemütlich
and prefer the Nash Ensemble.
The Fugue, Op.137, is little more than a curiosity – gone almost before
you realise that it’s there – but it rounds off the CD well.
To obtain Op.29 and Op.104 on Hyperion involves the purchase of two full-price
CDs if that is the exact coupling that you require, but you will also obtain
excellent performances of some other attractive music. If you download the
Hyperion, the price differential becomes less marked, with CDA67693 costing
just £6.99 in lossless or mp3 sound – here
– and CDA67745 £7.99 in both formats – here.
The accompanying notes for the Hyperion CDs, by Richard Wigmore, are excellent
– they are yours to download even if you don’t purchase the recordings. The
Naxos notes, by Anthony Short, are also very good, though the small font is
something of a disadvantage. For what it’s worth, the Hyperion covers, with
paintings by the great Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich, are more attractive
than the Naxos cover photo.
If you just want Op.29 and Op.104, you should not be disappointed by the new
CD – stylish performances, well recorded, of attractive less-well-known Beethoven
on an inexpensive but well-filled CD. The Hyperion versions may have a slight
edge but the different coupling and higher price may well be deciding factors.
In both cases, however, I recommend getting to know some of Beethoven’s better-known
chamber music, especially the String Quartets and Piano Trios, first.
Brian Wilson
see also review by Terry
Barfoot
Stylish performances, well recorded, of attractive less-well-known Beethoven
on an inexpensive but well-filled CD.