MAX REGER (1873-1916) The Chamber Music - Five
Volumes
Mannheimer String
Quartet Claudius Tanski (piano)
all recorded
at Fürstliche Reitbahn Arolsen MUSIKPRODUKTION DABRINGHAUS und GRIMM
MD&G GOLD 336 (0711-0715)-2 Five CDs - only available separately
69.46 + 72.46 + 72.51 + 51.21 + 64.20 available in UK via Chandos
www.mdg.de
Vol. 1
String Quartet Op. 54 No. 1 (1899)
String Quartet Op. 54 No. 2 (1899)
String Trio Op. 77b (1904)
Mannheimer String Quartet
rec 27-30 June 1996
MD&G GOLD 336 0711-2 69.46
Vol. 2
String Quartet Op. 74 (1903)
String Trio Op. 141b (1915)
Mannheimer String Quartet
rec 5-7 Dec 1997 & 29
June 1996 MD&G GOLD 336 0712-2 72.46
Vol. 3
String Quartet Op. 109 (1909)
String Quartet Op. 121 (1911)
Mannheimer String Quartet
rec 27-19 June 1998
MD&G GOLD 336 0713-2 72.51
Vol. 4
Piano Quartet Op. 133 (1914)
Three Duos (two violins) Op. 131b (1913)
Claudius Tanski (piano) Mannheimer
String Quartet
rec 27-28 March 1998 &
30 June 1996 MD&G GOLD 336 0714-2 51.21
Vol. 5
Piano Quartet Op. 113 (1910)
Serenade for flute, violin and viola Op. 141a (arr two violin
and viola) (1915)
Claudius Tanski (piano)
Mannheimer String Quartet
rec 20-21 Feb 1996 & 30
June 1996 MD&G GOLD 336 0715-2 64.20
MD&G's productions are distinguished by the most demanding standards:
musically and technically speaking.
The Mannheimer Quartet are the common force throughout all five volumes.
In the last two volumes they are joined by Claudius Tanski already a regular
on MD&G's ongoing German Romantics series (Draeseke, Bruch et al).
This, by the way, is not a boxed set but five individually available albums.
Not all that long ago I examined the CPO set of the string quartets. The
details are listed below. That set included on three discs the mature and
the not so mature quartets. The present set restricts itself to the mature
works and of course adds other ensemble pieces from Reger's chamber production.
The Op. 54 pair are weighed down by congested textures but in the case of
No. 1 this is relieved by the vivace assai's Viennese cheeriness.
In No. 2 the andante (which usually is a delight in Reger) is rather
sour. The Trio is a relief after such density of activity. The second volume's
Op. 74 quartet plays for 50.36 and dates from 1903. This is much more accessible.
Broadly speaking you can think of Smetana No 1 and Schoenberg's
Pélléas. The allegro agitato reflects contented smiles
and a stabbing poignancy after which Viennese charm and woodland fantasy
prepare the way for the memorable andante: cradled, rocking and thrumming.
The bucolica of the fourth movement finds a home for some nostalgic yearning
- perhaps an echo of the distant homeland leitmotiv beloved of German lieder.
Regret for times long past also pervades the first movement of the 1915 string
trio which has a central andante unmistakably akin to the middle movement
of a late Mozart piano concerto. The finale is fugal, oddly enough, recalling
Percy Grainger - but only for a moment or two.
In volume 3 the Op 109 quartet has a lovely allegro moderato succeeded
by a chasseur stop-start quasi presto (very much the midnight huntsman).
The inwardness of the larghetto (think of it as another superb Reger
andante) is well caught by the Mannheimers. The allegro is
a fugal chase game in which the instruments (characters to a man and woman)
creep, rush and strut.
The op 121 work (1910) is also in four movements. The first (allegro
espressivo) is out of a Korngoldian resource: the Viennese man about
town. At 2.55 it is genuinely touching. After the vivace chase-play
the adagio is a force to be reckoned with: a steady wondrous adagio,
sane and contemplative in an insane world. Catch-as-catch-can is the stamp
of the allegro con spirito: light of tread and with a superb broad
romantic tune.
With volume 4 we leave the string quartets and open with the Op. 133 piano
quartet. Some melody manages to escape the congealed textures of the first
movement's allegro con passione but after this all is well with a
fluttering vivace, a great largo with the piano touching in
the half-lights and a munificently splintery allegro con spirito in
which Reger surely had Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 in mind. The three duos
for two violins each comprise two sections. They are neatly chiselled and
will appeal to lovers of Bach's sonatas and partitas. These little 'chips'
variously feature Vivaldian terpsichorean delight, the scent of the warmer
south and lemon blossom, are suggestive of the solo violin in Holst Three
Medieval Songs and catch the pulsating activity of Bach's double violin concerto
and Brandenburgs
We round off this survey with the Piano Quartet op 113 (47.04). Its passionate
auburn turbulence too often plunges into the mire of density - relenting
occasionally but not often enough. The scherzo is flashy and Mephistophelean
- but not a trace of Wedding Cake caprice. As expected (by now!) the
larghetto is 'himmliche' - like the middle movement of Beethoven's
Emperor Concerto while the finale's lurching splendour suggests a
homage to Brahms (Piano Concerto No. 1) in the allegro energico.
The Serenade for two violins is not at all academic. Rather it breezes
out of a world of wind-blown leaves with another tranced Schubertian
larghetto (a still small voice but with a chill in air) and a Mozartian
presto. The other Serenade has a vivace of Mozartian
pastiche, a typically strong big larghetto of reflective poise (a
movement almost twice as long as the outer movements) and a humorous presto
borne on ponderous wings.
The cover portraits by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff are from art galleries at Dortmund
and Amsterdam
The illuminating and detailed notes are by Susanne Popp and Michael Kube;
the latter the author of all but volume 5.
This is a strong series well worth your attention. Performances and sound
largely defy adverse criticism. There is nothing of the routine or conveyor-belt
in these performances. Each seems an event in its own precious right. In
the performances of the quartets there is little to choose between CPO and
MD&G. However the two are not really comparable anyway. The CPO is a
complete set of three discs only available together. The MD&G discs can
be bought separately. I strongly commend volumes 4 and 5 if you cannot run
to all five.
Reviewer
Rob Barnett
MAX REGER (1873-1916) The complete
string quartets on three CDs
CD1 73.32
String Quartet in D minor (1888-89)
String Quartet Op 54 No. 1 in G minor
String Quartet Op 54 No. 2 in A major
CD2 53.15
String Quartet Op. 74 in D minor
CD3 74.17
String Quartet Op 109 in E flat major
String Quartet Op 121 in F sharp minor
Berner String Quartet
rec 1992-94 co-production
with Swiss Radio - Schweizer Radio DRS
three CDs nas CPO 999 069-2
