The Carmina Quartet originally recorded these two Bartók
quartets in 2009 for the Japanese Denon label at the Kasakakeno
Hall at Kiryu. Now the quartet has bought the rights to issue
the recordings internationally on the Solo Musica label. Sadly
by only having recorded two Bartók quartets for a single
disc the Carmina has given themselves a distinct disadvantage
when virtually all of the competition in these scores manages
to accommodate all six of Bartók’s quartets on
just two discs.
The series of six String Quartets that Bartók
wrote between 1908 and 1939 is generally considered to be the
most important of the twentieth century and amongst the most
significant in the whole repertoire. I can see how it is possible
to view the set as chronologically mirroring the development
of Bartók’s musical career. From the time of their
composition they have been regarded as amongst the most austere
and challenging imaginable; frequently incomprehensible to the
mainstream listener. From my recent experience at attending
a large number of recitals a Bartók quartet when programmed
can still send shock waves through an audience used to the more
traditional repertoire. Having said all that the late quartets
of Beethoven are not always easy for audiences and they were
written almost two hundred years ago.
Completed in 1909 the String Quartet No.1 is the most
Romantic of Bartók’s quartets. Whilst a piano teacher
at the Budapest Academy of Music Bartók composed the
score it seems in the wake of his infatuation with a violin
student Stefi Geyer. Cast in three movements the writing shows
the remaining influence of the music of Mahler and Strauss suffused
with the traditional folk music he was collecting. In the Lento
the playing evoked a cold, bleak and inhospitable landscape
laid to waste. Notable in the questioning central movement are
the episodes of increased weight and tempi that appear wave
after wave. After the rhythmic opening section of the unsettling
final movement from 1:37 the strings saw and gnaw away. The
calmer state that develops soon gives way to agitation. Throughout
the work compared to the Takács Quartet on Decca the
Camina adopts a generally slower tempo with reduced extremes
of dynamic.
A product of the unfolding horrors of the Great War years the
three movement String Quartet No.2 was composed in 1915/17
at Rákoskeresztúr, Budapest. At this time Bartók
was working on his ballet The Wooden Prince. In the opening
Moderato the Carmina communicate an eerie sense of mystery.
The spiky rhythms of the central movement are notable and the
concluding movement Lento has a shadowy character redolent
of wilderness and isolation.
The Bartók quartetsare extremely well served in
the record catalogues. There are several complete sets that
I am pleased to have in my collection. My first choice by some
distance is the Takács Quartet who provides thrilling
and raw-edged performances of great intensity and power. Recorded
in 1996 at Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, Germany the Takács
are recorded to demonstration standard and the double set is
available on Decca 445 297-2. The Emerson Quartet has strength,
passion and excitement, displaying great virtuosity. Recorded
in 1988 this Emerson set won a Grammy award and a Gramophone
‘Record of the Year’ award in 1989 on Deutsche Grammophon
423 657-2. It was reissued in 2007 on 477 6322. Recorded in
2007 at the Potton Hall, Suffolk the Belcea Quartet communicates
strongly with precision and spirit. The Belcea are on EMI Classics
3 94400 2. Other splendid versions of the complete quartets
include the Alban Berg on EMI playing with energy, fire and
significant skill. Their set was recorded in 1987 on EMI Double
Forte 7 47720-8 and re-issued on EMI Gemini 3609472. On Naxos
the Vermeer play with skill and vigour, although taking a less
raw-edged approach than many rivals. The Vermeer were recorded
at Ontario, Canada in 2001/04 on Naxos 8.557543-44.
The Carmina Quartet on Solo Musica is vividly recorded with
exceptionally close sound. At times it feels as if one is in
the same room as the players. I wasn’t too impressed with
the documentation which could have been a lot more detailed.
These two Bartók Quartets are splendidly performed.
However, the Decca set of the complete quartets from the Takács
Quartet is definitely the one to have.
Michael Cookson
Carmina Quartet (Matthias Enderle (violin); Susanne Frank (violin);
Wendy Champney (viola); Stephan Goerner (cello)) 