MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW Plain text for smartphones & printers

Support us financially by purchasing this from

Franz KROMMER (1759-1831)
Flute Quartet in D, Op. 93 (1819) [21:36]
Flute Quartet in C, Op. 90 (1820) [26:30]
Flute Quartet in G, Op. 92 (1816?) [26:04]
Andreas Blau (flute)
Christoph Streuli (violin)
Ulrich Knörzer (viola)
David Riniker (cello)
rec. Philharmonie, Berlin, December 2014, January-February 2015
TUDOR 7199 [74:26]

Composers of the Classical period apparently found the combination of flute with string trio attractive. The best known of these "flute quartets" are the four attributed to Mozart -- at least one of which may actually be by him -- but I've also previously reviewed the Opus 4 set by Ernst Eichner (ACCENT ACC 24183), and I know of others. This combination of instruments seems to have drawn out these composers' lighter, more cheerful side.

That this should also be true of Franz Krommer's D major quartet is hardly a surprise, given the consistently sunny mood of this transplanted Bohemian's output. The firm, assertive string phrases at the start are Classically severe, but the flute's response immediately lightens the atmosphere. Questioning minor-key phrases crop up here and there, never for long enough to disturb the overall cheerful demeanour. The Adagio is broad and serene; in the coda, the theme feints briefly toward the subdominant before resolving. The Minuetto, with more running figures for the flute, feels more like a scherzo, balanced by a spacious-sounding Trio in the same tempo. The final Presto, a tarantella, is simply delightful.

The other two quartets are both more elaborately wrought and more emotionally diverse. At the start of the C major, the flute spins liquid runs over string chords; then the music, while maintaining tempo, becomes more uneasy. The exposition cadences solidly in the major, but the development immediately shifts into a mysterious minor. The Minuetto is sprightly and playful. The Adagio cantabile sounds rather quick for the flute's decorated lines, but the tempo makes sense later, at the arrival of the little string outbursts. The finale is pleasantly active.

Peter Keller's program note describes the G major quartet as "the most individual of the three works." The opening theme-group already veers into the minor, turning the initial propulsion to agitation, while the second theme, sprouting from the same melodic germ, can't quite settle into either mode. The Adagio, searching in mood, is flowing in tempo while suggesting breadth. The Minuetto is easygoing, though with a Beethovenian forward drive; its minor-key Trio is somewhat extended. The finale, alas, is a letdown, though the execution is partly to blame. The manner at the start is too laid-back; the playing generally needs more rhythmic point, as well as a better balance among the three strings. It all comes to feel like empty note-spinning.

Featured flutist Andreas Blau displays a dextrous technique in Krommer's running passages, which he inflects with an unobtrusive rubato that subtly clarifies their sense of direction, and brings poised breath control to the broad, lyrical melodies. Unlike some other flautists I've recently heard (and reviewed), he avoids conspicuous overblowing above the staff, so the tone quality never becomes unpleasant. My only cavil is that, in the movements he launches solo - the Minuetto of the D major and the finale of the C major - the scansion isn't immediately clear: we don't get our rhythmic footing until the strings come in.

I've expressed my reservations about the strings in Opus 92; some of their chording in Opus 90 is a bit loose, as well. In the simpler Opus 93, however, the players provide strongly grounded, full-bodied chording.

The sound is vivid, though there could have been a few seconds' longer pause between the first two movements of the D major.

Stephen Francis Vasta

 

 



Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing