Antonín DVORÁK (1841-1904)
CD 1
Sextet in A, Op. 48, B80 [33:22]
String Quintet in G, Op. 77, B49 [33:26]
CD 2
String Quartet No. 12 in F, Op. 96, American [25:11]
String Quintet in E flat, Op. 97, B180 [33:19]
Bagatelles, Op. 47, B79 [17:59]
Vienna Octet (Wiener Oktett) (CD 1 and Op. 97), Janácek Quartet (Op. 96),
Vienna Philharmonic Quintet (Op. 47)
rec. October 1963, Decca Studio 3, London, UK (Op. 96); October 1969 (Op.
77), April 1971 (Opp. 48, 97), May 1975 (Op. 47) Sofiensaal, Vienna, Austria
DECCA ELOQUENCE 480 2375 [66:48 + 76:29] 
Dvorák’s chamber music is too varied and too broadly excellent to yield a
“best-of” album, but this two-CD set does a fine job. It’s part of Decca Eloquence’s
new series commemorating the Wiener Oktett, the superb chamber group composed
of Vienna Philharmonic musicians and friends which, from the early 1950s to
the mid-1970s, covered much of the chamber repertoire in genial, sun-lit performances.
Here are Dvorák’s two mature string quintets, his sextet, and a performance
of the American quartet courtesy of the Janácek Quartet. Everything
is excellent.
The Sextet begins down a generalized warm romantic Brahmsian path before Dvorák
asserts his absolute artistic independence with a gorgeous dumka slow
movement and winking furiant scherzo. (“Furiant” denotes the rhythm
rather than the mood, which is cheery.) The final theme and variations restore
a bit of weight to the proceedings, but never too much. This is an excellent
performance, with the full measure of both the serious and folksy sides of
the composer. One could argue, though, that the Panocha Quartet and friends
capture the composer’s spirit with a little more gusto.
The Quintet Op. 77, from 1875, has been one of my favorite Dvorák works since
I first heard it. It’s a fondness which this performance justifies in full:
from the jovial outbreak of the first movement, to the rollicking scherzo
and its breathtakingly simple tunes, to the endless stream of melody that
is the andante. It is good to hear a recording from 1969 which presents the
double-bass so clearly: even today engineers have trouble giving it proper
credit in the balance.
The final string quintet, Op. 97, is here too. It’s one of the composer’s
masterworks, written during his time in America, and the Wiener Oktett are
again enthusiastic advocates of the composer’s emotional depth and “American”
folk influences. These come in especially close contact in the superbly-rendered
scherzo and slow movement.
The Janácek Quartet substitute for their Viennese colleagues in a very nice
performance of the celebrated American String Quartet (No. 12), distinguished
by an especially fine slow movement. Still, why omit the first-movement repeat?
It’s not as if this is music you wish would be over sooner. Competition here
is fierce highlighted by the old and new Vlach Quartets and the fantastic,
brand-new Pavel Haas Quartet disc, but then most buyers will be considering
this set for the sum of all its parts. And, since the final part is the rare
Bagatelles for two violins, viola, and harmonium (brought to us by
members of the Vienna Philharmonic Quintet), this set can claim an edge over
some of the competition. The Bagatelles are more consequential than
their name implies, each four or five minutes long, and the harmonium adds
a flavor of peasant street bands. Or is that my imagination getting the best
of me?
Either way, this set is a mighty attractive selection of first-rate Dvorák:
recordings date from 1963 to 1975 but are never inferior or jarringly different
from each other, the annotation is good, and the playing simply heavenly.
The best single collection of Dvorák’s chamber music is probably the four-disc
red box on Supraphon with the Panocha Quartet, Suk Trio and friends, although
I’m not fond of the Panocha’s way with the quartets. Still, there is no reason
for a lover of this composer to avoid this charming release.
Brian Reinhart
No reason for the Dvorák lover to pass this one up!