The Henschel Quartet
are making a considerable impact in
the music world with consistently impressive
performances, often sparkling and exhilarating
with considerable empathic insights.
The quartet from Sindelfingen
in Germany is notable in that three
of the players are siblings: the brothers
Christoph and Markus Henschel are violinists
and sister Monika Henschel-Schwind the
violist are joined by cellist Matthias
Beyer-Karlshøj. As one of the
leading new-generation quartets the
Henschels together with the British-based
ensemble the Belcea and the Škampa from
Czechoslovakia are leading the way,
superbly maintaining exceptionally high
standards of performance. Following
on the heels of their acclaimed complete
Mendelssohn quartets on Arte
Nova Classics 82876 64009 2 the Henschel
have now turned their attention to two
of Beethoven’s quartets; one from the
composer’s first creative period and
the other from his later years.
String Quartet in
B flat major, Op. 18, No.6 (1798-1800)
The set of six string
quartets, Op. 18 ‘the Lobkowitz’
Quartets’ saw the twenty-eight year
old Beethoven, deep into his first creative
period, exploring what was for him new
compositional territory. By this time
he had already written a wide range
of chamber music, including string trios,
piano trios, cello sonatas, violin sonatas
et al. Previously, he had kept
a respectful distance from the genre
that had reached the peak of its development,
so profoundly demonstrated by Haydn
and Mozart.
The impetus to launch
out on this challenging compositional
terrain finally came in late 1798. The
works came about in response to a commission
for a package of six string quartets
from Prince Franz Joseph Maximilian
von Lobkowitz, who was a native of Bohemia
and a leading patron of the arts in
Vienna. Though thoroughly grounded in
the classical tradition of Haydn and
Mozart, these quartets demonstrate
new attitudes, techniques and nuances
of expression. Although for the time
being in these quartets the remarkable
innovation and incredible experimentation,
as shown in his later quartets, are
subservient to an exuberance and tranquil
grace that belongs to an older order.
The turn of the century
was an extremely significant period
for Beethoven, as at the time of, or
shortly after, completing this set he
was to astound the music world with
the Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major,
Symphony No. 1 in C major, Violin Sonata
No. 5 in F major ‘Spring’, Piano Sonata
in C sharp minor ‘Moonlight’, Symphony
No. 2 in D major and the Piano Concerto
No. 3 in C minor. All this came about
in a period when he had confided to
close friends that his hearing was rapidly
deteriorating.
The B flat major quartet
contains one of the most tragic pages
found in the entire Op. 18. The cheerful
opening movement allegro con brio
with its appealing and light-footed
first subject is given a joyous and
often exhilarating performance with
spontaneity and refinement. In the allegro
ma non troppo movement the ensemble
produce seemingly effortless playing
of raptly sustained serenity. The scherzo
with its effective syncopations and
whimsical trio is interpreted
with considerable affection, wit and
infectious playing. Beethoven entitled
the concluding movement ‘La Melinchonia
(melancholy)’ and insisted that
it be played, "with the greatest
of delicacy." Many writers
have commented on the brief anguished
slow passage at the start of the final
movement as the real beginnings of Romanticism
in music. Here it is performed with
appropriate tenderness and subtlety.
The quicker music that follows rejects
sorrow and embarks on a more convivial
mood that the accomplished Henschels
interpret with a controlled vitality.
In this B flat major
string quartet it is hard to look outside
the recording from Quatuor Mosaïques
(performed on period instruments). They
are peerless in these Op. 18 scores
(Naïve E 8899). Using modern instruments
an alternative to the excellent Henschels
is contained in the complete Op. 18
from the Italian Quartet, recorded in
Switzerland between 1972-75 and presented
in a three disc boxed set on Philips
464 071-2.
String Quartet in
E flat major, Op. 127 (1822, 1824-25)
The violent contrasts
and the avant-garde tonality that feature
in Beethoven’s last five String Quartets
and the Grosse Fuge are the most
remarkable, not only among his own creations
but also in all string quartet literature.
Music writer David Ewen explains that
with the first of the set, the E flat
major quartet and Beethoven’s other
late four string quartets the listener
was, "... confronted to a new
manner of voice treatment, a new approach
to structure, a new concept of lyricism
and thematic development together with
the most daring progressions, modulations
and discords." All this helped
to create an emotional state that had
never previously been known in music.
Amongst this interest and confusion
one contemporary commentator dismissed
the late string quartets as "the
confused mental wanderings of a deaf
composer."
In November 1822, Beethoven
was commissioned by the Russian Prince
Nikolaus Borisovitch Galitsin to compose
two or three new String quartets. Beethoven
decided to make use of a work that he
had already started, the E flat major
String quartet, Op. 127. Owing to his
deep immersion with the Symphony No.
9 in D minor, Op. 125 ‘Choral’ Beethoven
was unable to finish the score to the
E flat major until February 1825. He
completed Galitsin’s commission with
the addition of the quartets Op. 132
and Op. 130 later that year and in that
order. The composition of each of Prince
Galitsin’s three quartets proved
to be nothing less than a true adventure
for its creator, an experiment in an
imaginary world of sound. By this time
Beethoven was almost completely deaf.
The first performance of Op. 127 was
given in March 1825, in Vienna and elicited
nothing but incomprehension from the
audience. Composer Vincent D’Indy calls
this quartet the last of Beethoven’s
pastoral symphonies, for it was written
in the country and breathes a love of
nature that was so characteristic.
Op. 127 and the other
late string quartets also display a
disregard for the customary and classic
understanding of proportion, which manifests
itself in unusually or even excessively
long playing times. As if this was not
enough to alienate the audiences of
the day Beethoven questioned the customary
four movement format. Sketches have
shown that he had originally planned
Op. 127 in six movements. In fact, all
the quartets that Beethoven wrote
after this comprised more than four
movements.
The E flat major quartet,
Op. 127 opens with a slow six-bar
introduction which is played by the
Henschels in a manner more tentative
than majestic. In the succeeding allegro
the astutely chosen tempi provide
a serene and pastoral mood. From this
idyllic state we pass into the spirituality
and mysticism of the adagio.
The movement which is one of the longest
in any Beethoven quartet uses a theme
followed by six variations and is one
of the most sublime and contemplative
slow movements the composer ever wrote.
A prominent pizzicato passage
towards the end of the adagio
leads into the scherzo. The Henschels
prove to be understanding interpreters
in the slow movement with a measured
approach that repudiates sentimentality
and displays superb control. The third
movement scherzo is also one
of the longest Beethoven wrote. The
Henschels provide a suitably agitated
and nervous mood, although slightly
more vitality would have been preferred.
The allegro finale provides occasional
respite from the unrest of the scherzo.
This largely cheerful and frequently
robust movement is offset by excursions
into warm and gentle lyricism. In the
allegro all the players share
this rewarding music as a well balanced
team, although I would have appreciated
a touch more weight and intensity.
This fine account of
Op. 127 is well worth adding to any
collection and will provide considerable
pleasure. Those looking for alternative
versions are especially well served
with recordings from eminent ensembles
such as the Talich on Calliope, the
Lindsay on ASV, the Végh on Valois,
the Alban Berg on EMI, the Leipzig on
MD&G, the Amadeus on DG et al.
However, my recommendation is for the
1968 ADD account from the Italian Quartet
on a Philips Duo set 454 711-2 c/w String
Quartets Opp. 130, 135 and the Grosse
Fuge Op. 133. A digital alternative
that should not disappoint is the 1994
performance from the Emerson on a Deutsche
Grammophon Trio series 474 341-2 c/w
String Quartets Opp. 130, 131, 132,
135, the Grosse Fuge Op. 133
and an alternative finale: allegro
to Op.130.
This Arte Nova Classics
release is splendidly recorded although
I found the liner notes uninteresting
and rather technical. Surely it can
be only a matter of time before the
Henschel find their way on to one of
the big name labels. The reputation
of the Henschel continues to go from
strength to strength and their playing
serves Beethoven admirably with this
superb release.
Michael Cookson
Henschel Quartet 
