Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
String Quartet No. 13 in B flat, Op. 130 (1825) [37:34]
String Quartet No. 9 in C, Op. 59, No. 3 “Razumovsky” (1805-6) [32:30]
String Quartet No. 1 in F, Op. 18 (1800) [25:48]
String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131 (1826) [39:56]
Felix MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY (1809-1849)
Capriccio in E minor (1843) [5:54]
Busch Quartet
rec. live, Germany, 1951
PRISTINE AUDIO PACM105 [70:32 + 71:38]
This set is an intriguing discovery and for many lovers of classic quartet playing the answer to prayers. When I heard it was being released, I requested the set and feel very privileged to be reviewing it. Before the Second World War, the Busch were one of the greatest string quartets and pre-eminent in Beethoven, particularly the final five. Their recordings are regarded by myself and many other collectors as a kind of holy grail. There is a large budget collection of Adolf Busch’s recordings available on Warner and it is highly recommended. Their “Late Beethoven” on three CDs was last reviewed here in 2008 and even after more than eighty years, their recordings are often held as a gold standard. First hearing them in 1994 I was stunned by the playing “as one” and I regard them as very special indeed. The only drawback to these classic accounts - and it is inevitable - is the sound of shellac. Add to this fact that the quartet had to pause their playing, every four minutes during the 78-recording process. Thus, these radio recordings in very well re-mastered sound are to be welcomed, with the obvious proviso that they originate from seventy year old broadcast tapes. As ever, Andrew Rose has achieved very acceptable results and there is a feeling of “space” and of a tangible quartet sound.
As the notes explain, in 1946 Adolf Busch started a new Busch Quartet, with Ernest Drucker (second violin) and Hugo Gottesmann (viola). After a year Ernest Drucker dropped out and was replaced by Bruno Straumann, a former pupil of Gösta Andreasson, the quartet’s long-standing second violin. The newly-formed ensemble first performed in December 1947, and in March 1948 they travelled to Europe for a concert tour of England, Switzerland and France. The year 1949 took them to Scotland only, Busch otherwise mainly performing as a soloist or with Rudolf Serkin and/or brother Hermann. The 1950 concert tour took them to Ecuador and Colombia. Adolf, and his new-founded family with his second wife Hedwig and the little sons Nicholas and Thomas, postponed the trip to Europe until autumn. In January 1951 another tour started, covering Switzerland, Germany and, after Busch had recovered from a minor accident to one of his fingers, Switzerland, Italy and England.
During this 1951 tour, the Busch Quartet was three times taped for broadcasting, each time in Germany: on 25 January at the old Frankfurt Funkhaus in the Eschersheimer Landstrasse, on 10 February live in an all-Beethoven programme at Schloss Ludwigsburg, not far from Stuttgart, and on 15 February in a live studio broadcast from the Munich Funkhaus. The programmes contained music by Brahms (Op. 51, No. 1), Reger (Op. 109) (both these items have been published elsewhere), Haydn, who they sadly never recorded commercially (Op. 74, No. 2 – tape now apparently lost), and all the items presented here. My colleague Jonathan Woolf reviewed a CD (Meloclassic MC 4000) of the Brahms and of the Beethoven String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor which I assume is the same performance as here.
Adolf Busch, suffered two heart-attacks prior to that and not in the best of health in his last years anyway, might no longer have been in his prime, but contemporary reviews remark on the intensity of the Busch Quartet’s performances remaining impressive. The Stuttgarter Zeitung, acknowledging the sophistication of the all-Beethoven concert, reported that “the listeners were united into a single Beethoven congregation, and the performance took place in such a perfection rarely experienced by the lover of art. The evening became a real unique Beethoven experience, for which one cannot be thankful enough in this day and age.”
My listening began, appropriately with String Quartet No.1 which originates from that magical year of 1800 which, as well as the first six quartets, produced the First Symphony. When I had the pleasure of conversations with the late Peter Cropper of The Lindsays during their Windermere Beethoven cycle, he said that the “Early” quartets were technically the hardest to play. The Busch seem pretty technically competent but what shines through is their integrity and sincerity of purpose. Standouts are the Adagio, inspired by Juliet’s grave in Verona and the sparky final Allegro. There are inevitably some technical flaws but the performance is very fine.
String Quartet No.14 was always a standout on the HMV (Warner) set and to be able to eavesdrop on a concert performance from 1951 is a truly magical experience. The ensemble is perhaps not always perfect and Jonathan Woolf’s comments about tension is fair; however, the sound gives the performance an added dimension. The transition from the first movement to the second and then the Allegro Moderato before the languid fourth movement remains very special, even with the odd blemish, and the occasional cough. The lengthy Andante is a real “tour de force” and it has to be admitted that the playing is not perfect. That said, I’ve always preferred emotion and spirit over technical perfection. I am also very impressed by the sound achieved, particularly that of the cello; a real sense of presence in the pizzicato section. There appears to be a quote from the Brook movement from the Pastoral Symphony which I’ve not noticed before. The remaining movements go well and for special and different reasons this rendition deserves a place along with the 30s set as a classic recording of this remarkable Quartet. Beethoven took the medium to its extreme, returning to a simpler if still intriguing vision in his final quartet and fresh ending to No.13. I intentionally decided not to compare the original 78 recordings, partly because this was a different combination and, more importantly, felt that these live recordings should be taken as a delightful bonus to this ensemble’s discography. The final Allegro is an excellent movement by which to sample the joy of the ensemble. It illustrates that “late” Beethoven should not be treated po-faced! It brought back memories of the first time that I heard the Busch in this work and my feeling of total awe.
Mendelssohn’s Capriccio in E minor was a speciality of the Busch and presumably one of their encore pieces. It is, by no means, a trifle and is an absorbing work during its nearly six minute duration. Typical Mendelssohn melodies are on show, beginning with the andante succeeded by a divergent allegro fugato. This piece is played with great finesse making me regret the more the loss of the Haydn Op.74/2. Due to the economic difficulties of the Depression, HMV were never able to record their Haydn, as likewise the Pro Arte Quartet, famous for that composer, never recorded Beethoven commercially.
I then turned to the first CD and String Quartet No. 13 in B flat, Op. 130 which is a remarkable piece, even with the revised final movement. Originally Beethoven composed a finale, according to Hans Keller erroneously described as Grosse Fuge Op.133, but as his final work completed a “simpler” movement. The Busch never recorded the Grosse Fuge but the Busch Chamber Players did so using the great conductor Felix Weingartner’s arrangement. Most of my observations of the previous Quartets hold valid for this and for the third Razumovsky. There is that feeling of experiencing a concert and having the impression of the quartet just a few feet from where one is sitting. A favourite movement in the first work is the Alla danza tedesca, Allegro assai which certainly dances despite some imprecision in places. In the moving Cavatina an almost heavenly intensity is achieved and I find profoundly moving the way the four players interject with each other. This is an agèd Beethoven, in pain and near to death and the parallels with Adolf Busch who died a few months later are inevitable and poignant. The substituted Allegro goes with a real swing and spontaneous vigour. I’ve never “got” the “Grosse Fuge” even in the orchestral version under Otto Klemperer that I reviewed a few years ago.
String Quartet No. 9 in C, Op. 59, is the third Quartet to be dedicated to the Russian Prince Razumovsky and here is heard in another highly rewarding performance. Contemporary reviews of the works described them as “three new, very long and difficult Beethoven string quartets … are attracting the attention of all connoisseurs. The conception is profound and the construction excellent, but they are not easily comprehended, a view largely shared by many today even if they are greatly loved”. The original quartet who played these works were lead by Ignaz Schuppanzigh and they actually laughed when they saw the scores and stated “they were not music”. After the lively Introduzione there is the spellbinding Andante with pizzicato passages and a dark menace that must have inspired Schubert in his Piano Trio No.2. It has to be admitted that intonation from the Busch is imperfect at times but their sheer commitment makes up for this. The performance ends with the delightful questioning and forceful Minuet which runs into the sublime Allegro molto which the frisson that comes only from a live performance. There is no applause to be heard, which is fair enough, but it must have rung out in Schloss Ludwigsburg at the end.
It has been a sheer joy and privilege to hear these rare recordings. They serve as a vital adjunct to the work of this unique and trailblazing quartet. Many congratulations to Andrew Rose for his masterful re-mastering. I hope that lovers of great chamber music will enjoy these invigorating performances. They are an appendix to the pre-war records but deserve to be heard.
David R Dunsmore
Contents
Quartet No. 13 in B flat, Op. 130 [37:24]
Quartet No. 9 in C, Op. 59, No. 3 [32:30]
Quartet No. 1 in F, Op. 18, No. 1 [25:48]
Schloss Ludwigsburg, 10 February 1951
Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131 [39:56]
Funkhaus Frankfurt, 25 January 1951
Capriccio in E minor, Op. 81, No. 3 [5:54]
Funkhaus München, 15 February 1951
Performers: Adolf Busch (violin); Bruno Straumann (violin); Hugo Gottesmann (viola); Hermann Busch (cello)
