Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Piano Quartet No 1 in G minor, K478 [29:38]
Piano Quartet No 2 in E-flat, K493 [33:17]
Paul Lewis (piano)
Leopold String Trio
rec. December 2002, Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk. DDD.
Reviewed as 20/44.1 download with pdf booklet from
hyperion-records.co.uk.
HYPERION CDA67373
[62:59]
I first came across these pieces as a young music student when I was asked
to run through the piano part with three of my string-playing
contemporaries. Not knowing the works at the time, my immediate thought was
to the effect that I really didn’t need to look at the music before the
first rehearsal. I believed that I could easily read this stuff at sight!
What a surprise was in store for me. Fumbling through the difficult
semiquaver passages, I soon realised that this was virtuosic music of the
highest order. No wonder the Viennese publisher Hoffmeister cancelled his
original request for three works after the first performance of the first
quartet, which he claimed was really difficult for the audience to
understand, let alone for the players to perform. Today there seems to be
no problem in comprehending the dramatic and explosive nature of the first
movement with its arresting unison opening for all four players. But in
1785 such moods and feelings were unexpected in the fairly rare, and only
recently conceived medium of the piano quartet.
This is certainly not music for amateurs to play, but amateurs were the
players to whom Hoffmeister was hoping to sell the music. The casual
listener senses that the difficult passagework in the fast movements
consists just of simple scales and arpeggios, but unfortunately for the
player these are mixed up with numerous awkward melodic intervals.
Particularly difficult to negotiate are many such passages in the Allegretto
third movement of the second quartet in E-flat. Woe
betide any pianist who begins too quickly because the opening theme seems
so simple. The player must be sure to know the difficulties he will face
later in the movement before he starts his musical journey! However,
hearing these works played by Paul Lewis and the Leopold String Trio, it
all seems to flow along so easily that you would think that this music
presented no technical problems at all!
The dark and tragic mood of the G minor first quartet is established from
the start. Following the opening statement, a short and dramatic theme in G
minor, the pianist answers with a reflective and sad descending scalic
melody. Right from the start the players transport us into Mozart’s sound
world with unerring style and conviction. There is plenty of opportunity
for sensitive phrasing in the ensuing, beautiful melodies, each of which
has its own personality. The articulation, ensemble playing and intonation
are always immaculate. The players convey the wide-ranging moods and
emotions of this movement with faultless attention to detail, but at the
same time having an overview of this lengthy piece. Sometimes it seems like
an entire operatic sound world of emotions is present in this single
movement.
The second movement Andante transports us into yet another arena
of expressive possibilities. At the beginning, Paul Lewis explores this
serene music with beautifully sensitive and thoughtful playing, well
matched by the refined string playing that follows. In the Rondeau
finale I was very impressed with the ensemble playing as a whole. There are
many quite lengthy fast passages where the string instruments play in
octaves, and I wondered how long they had to practise these sections in
order to achieve such perfect intonation. The players very effectively
heighten the drama in the final and exciting return of the main theme. The
music builds towards a grand climax, when, just as you are expecting the
closing chords in G major, Mozart unexpectedly lurches into a fairly remote
key. This catches us all by surprise, giving us a jarring jolt before
returning us home to G major.
The second quartet in E-flat major is a very different affair. Grand and
ebullient in spirit with a jovial conclusion, the work is nevertheless
equally as enjoyable as the first quartet, and provides a good contrast
when the two are presented together on a disc like this one. The second
movement Larghetto is serene and enchanting, played with
extraordinary sensitivity to melodic shaping, attention to detail, and
balance. The warmth of the piano tone here is especially impressive. When
the string trio has the melodic material, sometimes with gentle
counterpoint, Paul Lewis plays the demisemiquaver accompanying passages
delicately in the background, but these are always crystal clear and
expressively articulated, complementing the main themes.
In these works, balance between strings and piano has clearly been
meticulously and carefully prepared and refined. There are some great
recordings from the past out there, particularly Clifford Curzon and the
Amadeus on Decca (4259602, download only), and another favourite of mine,
which can still be found with a bit of searching, is from Christian
Zacharias, formerly on EMI Classics (Warner Encore 5758742, download only).
However, these don’t match this current version from Hyperion which is so
beautifully recorded. It is hard to imagine that these works will ever be
played and recorded better than this.
Geoffrey Molyneux
