Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
String Quartet No. 3 in A, Op.41/3 (1842) [26:44]
Piano Quintet in E-flat, Op.44 (1842)* [29:49]
Takács Quartet (Edward Dusinberre, Karoly Schranz (violins); Geraldine Walther
(viola); Andás Fejér (cello)) with Marc-André Hamelin (piano)*
rec. St George’s, Brandon Hill, Bristol, 14-17 May 2009. DDD.
HYPERION CDA67631 [56:33]
The Takács Quartet has already made several distinguished recordings for Hyperion;
I chose three of them for my recent personal choice of 30
Hyperion CDs in celebration of the advent of their download service: Schubert’s
String Quartets 13 and 14 (CDA67585), Brahms’s Piano Quintet and String Quartet,
Op.51/2 (CDA67551) and his String Quartets, Op.51/1 and Op.67 (CDA67552).
In the Brahms Piano Quintet, the Takács Quartet was ably partnered by Stephen
Hough; in Schumann they are abetted by another fine pianist, Marc-André Hamelin,
with whom they have played the work in public. I missed the BBC broadcast
of their performance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in May, 2009, where Colin
Clarke thought Hamelin’s playing a little rough – see review;
by the time that these recordings were set down, a few days later, matters
had clearly improved.
The first movement is marked Allegro brillante, but it opens with a
pretty positive statement and the Hyperion performers give this due weight.
Their timing here of 8:57 overall, which seems instinctively right and is
in line with most performances apart from Leif Ove Andsnes and the Artemis
Quartet, on an award-winning Virgin CD, who shave over half a minute off that
time. I’ve seen the new recording described as promoting energy at the expense
of tenderness, but there seem to me to be equal amounts of those qualities
here.
The most distinctive feature of the new version of the Schumann Quintet concerns
the slow speed at which the Hyperion performers take the second movement:
Leif Ove Andsnes and the Artemis Quartet take 7:57, Jenö Jandó with the Kodaly
Quartet on a very serviceable Naxos recording 8:07, while the Takács/Hamelin
performance runs to 8:58. They open the movement with very deliberate and
undemonstrative playing; I wasn’t sure that it was going to work at first
– there’s not much here of the march indicated by the direction in modo
d’una marcia, but the slow opening tempo does provide for real contrast
with the agitato central section.
In any case, the march in question is pretty unusual: the anonymous notes
to the Naxos CD refer to it as ‘sinister’ and Misha Donat, in his excellent
contribution to the Hyperion booklet points out that it only just misses being
a funeral march. Even by the end of the movement, I wasn’t entirely sold on
the tempo, but I have to admit that it works – and it’s only a few seconds
slower than the 8:46 taken by my third comparison, the classic version by
the augmented Beaux Arts Trio on Philips Duo.
Donat describes the following Scherzo as ‘glittering’. A more apt epithet
for the opening of the Hyperion performance might be ‘bubbling’; here the
fastish tempo – a few seconds faster than the Naxos or Virgin – presents a
real contrast with the tempo of the second movement. It is marked molto
vivace and Hamelin dashes off some pretty nimble finger-work without articulation
or phrasing ever suffering and he is splendidly supported.
The free-wheeling performance of the finale is certainly Allegro, but
it’s reined in enough also to satisfy the non troppo rider. The basic
tempo is a shade slower than the Naxos or the Virgin – both much in agreement
as they are throughout movements 2-4 – but it seems to me about right and
it rounds off a convincing performance overall. I’m sure that I’ll get over
that slight feeling of discomfort with the second movement in time.
The Beaux Arts Trio couple the Quintet with excellent versions of the complete
Piano Trios on a wonderful 2-CD set at budget price (Philips Duo 456 323 2,
at around Ł9). These Duos are disappearing at an alarming rate – though it
is to be hoped that many of them will reappear even less expensively on Eloquence
– so you may want to snap this up now.
Andsnes and the Artemis Quartet couple the Schumann and Brahms Piano Quintets
– perhaps the most logical coupling of all for a CD which comes replete with
awards (Virgin 3951432, full price but obtainable for around Ł12). Janö Jandó
and the Kodály Quartet have the same coupling (8.550406).
Happy as I am with the Hyperion recording of the Quintet, I was surprised
not to be quite so attracted to the version of the Quartet – the first time
that I have been even a little disappointed with any recording by the Takács
Quartet, on Hyperion or, earlier, on Decca. Everything seems to be in its
proper place, but it didn’t quite catch fire for me, perhaps because all four
movements are a little rushed – of which, more below.
Wondering why the performance didn’t quite gel for me, I sneaked a peek at
some other reviews – something which I usually avoid until I’ve decided what
I am going to say. One had no qualms at all, preferring the performance even
to the award-winning Zehetmair Quartet version on ECM, the other felt that
the manic Florestan side of Schumann’s personality had been allowed to dominate,
much preferring that ECM version. Neither quite explained my lack of engagement,
though the more positive review assured me that the performance would grow
through repeated hearing; perhaps it will – I certainly liked it enough to
want to give it a chance.
As they did in the case of Brahms, Hyperion will doubtless give us recordings
by the Takács Quartet of the remaining two Schumann String Quartets. For those
who cannot wait, Naxos offer a splendid bargain in the form of all three works,
squeezed onto a single CD, by the Fine Arts Quartet (8.570151), which Göran
Forsling made Bargain of the Month – see review
– a judgement with which I am happily in accord. Inspired by GF’s review,
I downloaded this recording in lossless (flac) sound from passionato
and was very happy with the result. Alternatively, this recording may be downloaded
less expensively in good mp3 sound, again from passionato or from classicsonline,
with Keith Anderson’s notes available from the latter.
The Fine Arts Quartet’s tempi for all four movements are rather more expansive
than those of the Takács on Hyperion. The longest of the three Op.41 quartets,
it emerges at the hands of the Fine Arts Quartet five-and-a-half minutes more
weighty than from the Takács, but it doesn’t outstay its welcome. Their broad
tempo for the third movement, Adagio molto, may go some way to explaining
why I prefer this Naxos performance. Elsewhere, as GF says, the playing is
full of nuance and the high-spirited account of the finale sets the seal on
a fine recording. I’m not sure about the two jolly vagabonds whom he envisages
disporting themselves in this movement – music tends to evoke words for me,
not pictures – but I get his point. The performances of other two Op.41 quartets
are equally attractive.
I’m at something of a loss, then, to explain why I engage so readily with
the Fine Arts version and less readily with the Takács, for all the virtues
of their playing. I’m aware that others may well think otherwise – that at
least one other reviewer did so – and I’m sufficiently pleased with the new
Hyperion recording to ditch Jandó and the Kodály Quartet in the Quintet, already
superseded in the Brahms by the Takács/Hough version. Perhaps the new recording
of the Quartet will grow on me.
The recording and presentation are up to Hyperion’s usual high standards,
with one of their evocative cover paintings of a romantic landscape which
have added to the attraction of their Takács recordings and with excellent
notes from Misha Donat.
Try the sample tracks on the Hyperion website and if, like me, you find yourself
a little disappointed with the Quartet, go for the Naxos bargain. You may
even wish to supplement the Hyperion recording with that inexpensive disc
or download.
Brian Wilson
see also review by Dominy Clements