Mendelssohn - Quatuors Op. 12 & 13

Quatuor Talich

Lossless: Ape (img + cue + log) = 239 mb
Lossy: Mp3 (lame "preset standard") = 75 mb
Artwork @ 300dpi = 8 mb

Total playing time: 52:36

Recorded:
June 2001, Studio Arco Diva Domovina, Prague

Released:
2001, Calliope CAL 9311

Track listing:
1. Quartet in B-flat major, op.12 - I. Adagio-Allegro non tardante
2. Quartet in B-flat major, op.12 - II. Canzonetta (Allegretto)
3. Quartet in B-flat major, op.12 - III. Andante espressivo
4. Quartet in B-flat major, op.12 - IV. Molto allegro e vivace
5. Quartet in A minor, op.13 - I. Adagio-Allegro vivace
6. Quartet in A minor, op.13 - II. Adagio non lento
7. Quartet in A minor, op.13 - III. Intermezzo (Allegro con moto)
8. Quartet in A minor, op.13 - IV. Presto

Reviews:

Classicstoday:
Mendelssohn wrote his first two published string quartets at age 18 (A major) and 20 (E-flat). Mere juvenilia? No way. Only Mozart produced works of comparable quality as a teenager. By the time he wrote his Op. 13 quartet, Mendelssohn already had produced the Midsummer Night's Dream Overture, the Rondo capriccioso, the String Symphonies, and the Octet, to cite only a few of his many early compositions. So these quartets are by any measure mature works, even if their composer had only been shaving for a short time. They certainly come off as mature, sophisticated compositions with an abundance of adult emotional content in these performances by the Talich Quartet.

Both are cast in the mold of Beethoven, an inescapable influence at the time, but with innovative Mendelssohnian touches, and the Talich Quartet reveals all the lyric and dramatic excellences of the music. From the first notes of the Op. 12's Adagio opening, you know you're in rarified territory--and the Talich's seamless transition into the main Allegro is an example of quartet playing at its best. Not only does the ensemble have a balanced tonal blend, but time and again individual instruments emerge with rounded, fresh timbres and subtle phrasing that draw you closer to the music. The flowing Canzonetta, familiar as a stand-alone encore, is done with precisely the right light touch, and the Andante, with its hymn-like effects, is aptly poetic. In the final movement, the dramatic opening is properly vigorous and the slow, sad coda is especially effective.

At the beginning and end of the Op. 13, the young Mendelssohn quotes from his song Frage (Question), written on hearing of Beethoven's death. A high point is the second movement Adagio marked "non lento", and that's how the Talichs play it, expressively at a measured pace that never drags. After a slow introduction with the character of a prayer, the movement modulates into a fugato, and the quartet clearly articulates the dense counterpoint without slighting its expressive qualities. As the music becomes more animated motifs are tossed among the players and each exhibits the tonal beauty that's a characteristic of this group.

The unmistakably Mendelssohnian third-movement Intermezzo's rocking gait and pizzicato effects make you want to keep hitting the repeat button. The quartet is irresistible here, with leader Jan Talich's violin singing sweetly and the ensemble playing with quicksilver lightness. His soulful solo into the final Presto movement's coda is a special treat, all the more effective for its relative restraint in a passage that offers the temptation to sentimentalize. Throughout both quartets the group excels in managing transitional passages. There's never a sensation of abruptness as the music moves from section to section; rather it's all organic, each building block arising from the preceding one. With vibrant, warm engineering that matches the performances, the Talich Quartet is now my preferred choice for these pieces.

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