I last came across the Carducci Quartet in 2010 with their Naxos recording
of Philip Glass's first four string quartets (
review). This is still a leading choice for that repertoire, so
it is good news that they are due to complete that particular cycle on a
release due in September 2015. One of their competitors in Glass in 2008 was
the Paul Smith Quartet, on Signum Classics (
review), which brings sort of ironic circularity to
this Shostakovich recording.
Beautifully recorded, this is an attractive set of quartets by
Shostakovich. The
Fourth Quartet is infused with Jewish character
and was one of several works he had to keep hidden from the increasingly
anti-semitic Stalinist regime. The Carducci Quartet's sound is for a large
part warm and affectionate in this work, delivering plenty of passion and
power in the opening and the
Finale but retaining in general a kind
of respectful aura for the melancholy atmosphere and despairing dances used
by Shostakovich in empathy for the suffering of his fellow artists. There
are some intensely magical moments in this performance, in particular in the
disarmingly simple directness of the
Andantino second movement, and
that unison melody 40 seconds into the following
Allegretto.
The
Eighth Quartet is Shostakovich's best known by a fair margin,
and while the heartfelt and deeply personal emotions in the piece are
ardently expressed by this quartet, they also perform with the tenderness
and restraint you would seek as a kind of one-to-one conversation with the
composer. The opening
Largo is less a statement of bleakness and
grief, rather a uniquely special moment of consolation and nostalgic
recollection. The violence of the following
Allegro molto is fierce
indeed, but the drive is one of Beethovenian inner turmoil rather than an
outward assault on the senses. This feel of psychological wrangling rather
than of public declamation is held into the central
Allegretto, the
rhythmic quality of the strings potent but not over-egged. Maximum wallop is
reserved for those stabbing chords in the penultimate
Largo, and
the raw exposed nerves of the work are exposed in full, with passages of
lingering heartbreak to follow. This sets us up for the last
Largo,
in which the conversation of the opening is recalled, but this time we are
in a monologue with the cold finality of a stone monument and the desolation
left when all reply has been forever lost.
The
Eleventh Quartet is another work with an atmosphere of
loneliness and a "preoccupation with mortality and death". This work has
plenty of that exposed, skeletal bareness that characterises Shostakovich's
late work, and the Carducci Quartet revels in the disparate solo fragments
thrown around in the
Scherzo second movement and elsewhere. The
extremes of range and other technical demands of this quartet are taken with
fluency in this recording, with nuances of colour and closely observed
musical details all uniting to communicate a remarkable experience and
ultimately going a long way toward effacing the quartet as a performing unit
- Shostakovich's message uninhibited by mundane considerations of intonation
and ensemble.
Comparison is inevitable, but the introduction of alternatives at this
stage takes nothing away from the excellence of this recording. I almost
inevitably return to the Fitzwilliam Quartet's complete Decca cycle as a
reference for these works, and of course you can hear plenty of differences.
They are more sustained and texturally more 'symphonic' in many places in
the
Fourth Quartet, the emotional weight in the
Eighth
Quartet is leant on more heavily from the outset, the contrasts more
explosive and edgy, and despite its overt simplicity the
Eleventh
Quartet is at times gritty to the point of ugliness. That
Recitative as a point of comparison to a large extent sums up my
position on this Carducci Quartet recording. One might argue that they might
have brought more out of the music of they had been more 'risky', but this
would seem to me a side-effect of their refinement and technical brilliance.
The Carducci Quartet does push this music to extremes, but they are so good
it always sounds precise and sophisticated. You can at times chose to dare
to push this music beyond this boundary, but you can also chose to express
Shostakovich through the letter and spirit of his scores without exposing
the disease which can be found when you plunge its depths to the very heart.
This is not a criticism, and I'd bet the Carducci Quartet is prepared to see
blood on the carpet when it comes to certain live performances.
From the evidence of this disc's texts there is apparently no suggestion
that this is likely to turn into a complete cycle, though Roy Westbrook's
review refers to this quartet's "Shostakovich15" performing project so they
have these works under their fingers. If that were the case I'd buy it like
a shot. This kind of perfection is in some ways miraculous and I am filled
with admiration for this recording, recommending it wholeheartedly. If
however you want that smoky, dangerous cold-war feel of angst and grimness
then you will also want views such as that of the Fitzwilliam's.
Dominy Clements
Previous review:
Roy Westbrook
