RECORDING OF THE MONTH
 
Anton ARENSKY (1861-1906)
Piano Quintet in D major, Op. 51 (1900) [23:58]
String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 35 (1894) [28:32]
Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32 (1894) [27:54]
Spectrum Concerts Berlin
rec. live, 25 April 2014, Kammermusiksaal, Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
NAXOS 8.573317 [80:23]

This disc of Anton Arensky’s chamber music is surely one of the chamber recordings of the year. It features three great, but sadly overlooked, works, in live performances by a group, Spectrum Concerts Berlin, which is in fact a starry cast of some of the best Russian chamber musicians currently at work. I’ve been a fan of this music since hearing a truncated version of the String Quartet No. 2 performed live at university; the student musicians omitted the finale. If you at all enjoy the quartets of Borodin, Tchaikovsky or Mendelssohn, or the chamber music of Schumann and Taneyev, then you simply must hear this.

The Piano Quintet in D is the latest work on the album, but sounds like the earliest; indeed for a long time I thought it was. That’s because Arensky very clearly models his work on Schumann’s Piano Quintet. The pattern is all there: first a bold, striding first movement, then a more emotional slow section; the scherzo rebounds vivaciously and the finale is very heavily based on fugues and contrapuntal elements. Even the keys are only a half-step apart. Still, if you’re going to copy, copy from the best and Arensky is most adept at his work, creating a new set of fresh melodies and a narrative which fits comfortably in 24 minutes. It’s a very satisfying work.

Also backward-looking, in a good way: the Piano Trio No. 1, clearly inspired in part by the great trios of Mendelssohn and Brahms. There are individual touches here, though. The salon-music theme of the scherzo sounds like Fritz Kreisler or even Sarasate. However, the big, towering masterpiece on this CD is without a doubt the extraordinary String Quartet No. 2. This quartet involves two cellos and only one violin and viola, making it unique in the repertoire. The darker scoring is because the quartet was written to mourn Tchaikovsky. The first movement is a heartfelt elegy, with an unforgettable motto theme which will recur throughout the work. Then comes a set of variations on a Tchaikovskian tune. There is a very strong echo of Orthodox Christian funeral music throughout these two movements, making the dedication even more touching. The finale’s Russian folk song is the same tune Beethoven used in his second Razumovsky quartet.

These performances set the new standard. There’s no other way to put it. Recorded live in a single day — but without even the slightest hint of insecurity or expressive deficiency — the Spectrum Concerts Berlin players give this music every ounce of passion and care they have. This is especially true in the quartet: listen to how the cellists, at times, completely omit vibrato, their plainer sound evocative of the Orthodox chant from which the music derives. The trio’s slow movement is a marvel of technically secure playing by the string players, even as they are asked to play extremely quietly and with great delicacy. That is because Spectrum Concerts Berlin is made up of a starry cast. Alexander Sitkovetsky takes up a violin in the piano quintet; his Sitkovetsky Trio received two separate Recording of the Month nods this year. Maxim Rysanov, one of the most distinguished violists on the planet, appears in two of the works. Also the pianist is Eldar Nebolsin and he has made a number of very good recordings for Naxos. Even so, this is his best. Other members of Spectrum Concerts Berlin, absent from this recording, include Janine Jensen, Torleif Thedéen, Julian Rachlin, Philip Dukes and Robert Levin.

Recorded sound is perhaps a bit in-your-face, but the musicians are so good that they withstand the scrutiny, and the result is vibrant. There is nothing to stand in the way between you and this extraordinarily powerful music. If you haven’t heard any of Anton Arensky’s chamber music, or if you know a bit of it but want the best possible recording, you need this. The piano trio and piano quintet are very good, while the string quartet is a romantic masterwork.

A few years ago, I named the Nash Ensemble’s recording of the Arensky Quartet No. 2 a Recording of The Year. It was paired with the equally wonderful Glazunov string quintet. This new recording is clearly superior. I guess that means that this needs to be a Recording of The Year, too.

Brian Reinhart

Previous review: Michael Cookson

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