Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841-1904)
String Quartet No. 14 in A flat major, Op. 105 (34:23)
String Quartet No. 4 in E Minor, B. 19 (35:45)
String Quartet No. 13 in G major, Op. 106 (40:18)
Cypresses for string quartet, B152, Nos. 5, 10, 4, 9, and 8 (15:14)
Vogler Quartett
Rec. April 2011, Siemensvilla, Berlin-Lankwitz, Germany
String Quartets - Volume 2
CPO 7776252 [2 CDs: 126:16]
The Vogler Quartet has kept its original membership (Tim Vogler, Franck Reinicke, violins; Stefan Fehlandt, viola; Stephan Forck, cello) since its formation in 1985. The East German ensemble had its beginnings at the Hanns Eisler Musical Academy in Berlin and in 1986, only one year after its foundation, won first prize at the Evian string quartet competition. Its Dvořák cycle for CPO has made slow progress, with three double CDs over the last decade (the first studio sessions were in 2010). Here we have the last two quartets together with an early one, and five of the eleven Cypresses.
That early quartet is No. 4, and far from typical Dvořák in style. At this stage of his career he was an enthusiast for Liszt and Wagner, and it shows – though one commentator calls it a “peculiarly Czech take on Beethoven’s…Grosse Fugue”. It is one long continuous multi-section movement (like Liszt’s Sonata in B minor). The composer felt it was a failure and destroyed his autograph score. But the parts survived, so we can now enjoy its radical experimentation. Dvořák thought its lyrical andante religioso section worth preserving though, as it eventually became the Nocturne for Strings Op.40. The Vogler Quartet certainly observe the opening direction Assai con moto ed energico with plenty of energy and forward motion, but not so much that we can’t appreciate the detail in the writing, chromatic and busily contrapuntal at times. That andante religioso is in the Vogler’s playing a passage of spiritual, so withdrawn and intimate is their playing.
With Op.106 and 105 we have a typical Dvořák catalogue muddle, for the higher opus number is given to the earlier work, though the final quartet, No.14 Op.105 in A flat was begun first, in America, but put aside before it had progressed much beyond the exposition of the first movement. Dvořák then composed the whole of No.13 in G major, Op.106, before returning to Op.105. Got that? What really matters is they are arguably the two finest in the whole series, and the Vogler Quartet does them full justice. After this there is no more chamber music of any sort from Dvořák, as he focusses on symphonic poems (back to Liszt!) and opera.
The A flat Quartet Op.105, has an amiable but often lively first movement Allegro appassionato (after a slow introduction), and these players approach it in that spirit, and with keen attention to the score’s markings. The second movement scherzo is a furiant in style (alternating triple and duple time), and the Vogler players drive it along with a real lift to that rhythm, until the very melodious trio section, which is nicely ‘sung’ – and even gently ‘swung’. The Lento is another tuneful movement marked molto cantabile, and the shifting textures here, indeed in much of the work, give all four players moments in the spotlight, so we can hear how skilled each one is, as well as how effective they are at listening to each other. The finale, usually thought the least effective movement, is at least played with as much engagement as the rest.
The G major work too is stirringly played throughout. The first movement, perhaps the finest in all of the composer’s string quartets, has an occasional emphatic edge to the several forzandi moments, but the Voglers don’t sound over concerned with a smooth blend or beauty of sound in these works. Rather they pursue a directness that suits the frequent earthiness of the inspiration, or a searching intensity as in the Adagio ma non troppo, one of the composer’s most moving utterances. The finale’s frequent changes of tempo are each managed persuasively while still keeping a sense of momentum. The Voglers close the second CD with charming accounts of five of the twelve Cypresses (others of the Cypresses appear on other discs on the series). The recorded sound is good and the booklet note very helpful.
There is no direct competitor with the exact programme on these two CDs of course. But you might be in the market for just a single disc with the last two quartets Op.105 and 106, which seem surprisingly rarely coupled together. But they can still be found in fine performances by two Czech groups; the Pražák Quartet on Praga Digitals B001BBSE2I (2008), and the Martinu Quartet on an SACD (ArcoDiva UP0133, 2012). But if you are collecting, or merely curious about, the Vogler series, this is a rewarding issue, for the unusual early quartet, and the two late masterpieces, all very well played indeed.
Roy Westbrook
