Ernó DOHNÁNYI (1877-1960)
String Quartets: No. 1 Op. 7 (1899) [27.50]; No. 3 in A minor Op. 33 (1926)
[29.39]
Aviv Quartet (Sergey Ostrovsky (violin I); Evgenia Epshtein (violin II); Nathan
Braude (viola); Rachel Mercer (cello))
rec. St. Anne’s Church, Toronto, Canada, 17-19 May 2010
NAXOS 8.572569 [57.29]
I have always thought of Dohnányi as, primarily, an orchestral composer. I
suppose this was because the first pieces of his I ever got to know - the
only ones I have really got to know - are the Ruralia Hungarica,
written twenty-five years after the 1st Quartet and the even more
famous Variations on Nursery Song. In more recent times I have got
to know the Second Symphony a little (Chandos CHAN 9455). I have overlooked
the chamber music; and I shouldn’t have done. It was indeed with a chamber
work, his First Piano Quartet, that he first attracted the attention in 1895
of Brahms whose style can be detected in the First String Quartet. Dohnányi
went on to study composition with Eugen D’Albert but it was also as pianist
that he initially became known. In 1932 he even recorded some of own piano
music (review).
After teaching in Berlin Dohnányi left Germany in the early days of the First
War and went back home to work in Budapest. There he promoted the music of
his countrymen especially his friends and fellow folk-song collectors Kodály
and Bartók. At the end of his life, like Bartók, he gravitated towards America
and is buried at Tallahassee, Florida of all places.
Dohnányi 1st Quartet has much that is nineteenth century romantic
about it in its four movements. Brahms is to be heard as Richard Whitehouse
points out in his informative booklet notes. The first movement is in clear
sonata-form, but in the second movement I detected a touch of Dvorák. The
movement is marked Allegretto grazioso. There are some folk-like
elements in the main theme of the third movement a lovely Adagio, and in the
drone bass accompaniment to the second theme in the breezy Vivace finale.
Although weighing in at nearly half-an-hour the piece, for an early work,
did not “outstay its hour”. It delivers a pleasing if somewhat undemanding
experience, There were however some slightly quirky modulations, which point
to a new way forward.
Along with their many other projects Naxos’s commitment to Dohnányi is noticeable.
This is the fifth disc devoted to him in recent times. One can assume that
the missing Second Quartet written during the First World War will appear
in due course. It appears not to be available anywhere at present.
The Third Quartet, which curiously comes first on the disc, is an important
utterance. The booklet notes say that the composer’s “significant handling
of form in this piece is paralleled by a new expressive freedom”. I certainly
concur but would add that by 1926 just a short time after Ruralia Hungarica’s
success Dohnányi had finally found his voice. This quartet has just three
movements. In the substantial first the two subjects are dramatically opposed
both in terms of mood and key. I felt at times that the Aviv Quartet - beautifully
photographed by the way on the back of the booklet - could have characterised
these ideas even more firmly. Nevertheless there are some seriously passionate
passages and some that are powerfully rhythmic which elicit strong attack
and decisive commitment; note the breathless coda.
The second movement demonstrates the refreshing and free-thinking use of form
mentioned earlier. It begins with a hymn-like opening, reminding me of a Victorian
chant. After some development this falls into a Scherzo of some wit. There
follows a strongly emotional passage based over a repeated pedal note. This
dies into the opening melody, which is subtly varied and developed, especially
in the accompanimental figures. The ending is calm and contented. The finale,
by contrast, ends in a syncopated and excitingly rumbustious climax: an exhilarating
Vivace giocoso. This is electric stuff at times and the playing likewise.
In fact, as so often happens, I felt myself bemused as to why this quartet
is not more often played and part of the standard repertoire. Perhaps someone
in Hungary could tell us if it’s better known in Budapest.
I can only say that the disc is well worth the required modest investment
even if only for the Third Quartet. Nothing about it will disappoint.
Gary Higginson
Well worth the required modest investment even if only for the Third Quartet.