Antonín DVORÁK (1841-1904)
Cypresses, B152 [31:07]
String Quartet No. 13, B192 [37:36]
Cypress String Quartet
rec. 28 July-1 August 2012 (Quartet, Cypresses 1, 3, 7, 9-12), 14-16 September
2012 (Cypresses 2, 4-6, 8), Skywalker Sound Studios, California
AVIE AV2275 [68:43]
Last year the Cypress String Quartet released
a CD featuring Dvorák’s 12th quartet American, and
I liked the playing but was bothered by the recorded sound. Unfortunately
the same pattern continues here: the quartet delivers an edge-of-seat reading
of Quartet No. 13 and pairs it with a laid-back Cypresses song cycle,
but the sound is such that, for me, aural fatigue sets in.
The problem is with balance and high registers: the whole ensemble is harshly,
coarsely portrayed, but the first violin (Cecily Ward, who produces and plays
a Stradivarius) is especially over-bright, glassy. Forgive a metaphor that
conflates sound with light: it’s as if the other three players are outdoors
in a garden, and Ms. Ward is under a neon sign. I can’t imagine that the quartet
sounds like this in concert, and it’s unfortunate that they sound like this
on the two CDs.
It’s a major distraction, to me. The Quartet No. 13 is energetic, indeed too
aggressive at times (the third-movement trio), but for reasons of polish and
sound quality must yield to the excellent recent recordings by the Pavel Haas
and Cecilia
Quartets. Side note: Listen to the Cecilia Quartet! They’re fantastic!
The Cypresses, for which the present quartet is named, are enjoyably
played, with especially wonderful viola and cello solos (sample No. 9, “My
dearest one”), but that first violin just about drowns out the second.
I’ve checked the MusicWeb International database for other discs by this ensemble;
in 2011 Brian Wilson enjoyed their Beethoven
and noted perhaps too-forward sound but no other complaints; an earlier Naxos
disc of Benjamin
Lees was reviewed without the sound being commented on. There’s maybe
a chance that I’m the only person bothered by it, but to me the bother is
very real. If you’re willing to fiddle with your stereo controls to tame the
treble and tilt the balances, go ahead, but even then, the Cecilia
Quartet has more promise.
Brian Reinhart
I couldn’t get past the harsh sound and poor balance.
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