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Track(s) taken from CDA67585

String Quartet No 13 in A minor 'Rosamunde', D804

composer
1824

Takács Quartet
Recording details: May 2006
St George's, Brandon Hill, United Kingdom
Produced by Chris Hazell
Engineered by Simon Eadon
Release date: October 2006
Total duration: 33 minutes 9 seconds

Cover artwork: Ahasuerus at the End of the World by Adolph Hiremy-Hirschl (1860-1933)
Private Collection / The Maas Gallery, London / Bridgeman Images
 

Reviews

‘The Takács have the ability to make you believe that there's no other possible way the music should go, and the strength to overturn preconceptions that comes only with the greatest performers’ (Gramophone)

‘Schubert's two most accessible quartets receive interpretations on this disc which are as near ideal as one is ever likely to hear’ (BBC Music Magazine)

Death and the Maiden is a deeply affecting reading with the violin of Edward Dusinberre tenderly conveying the maiden's vulnerability and the mounting panic as she is stalked by the insistent death march of the other three instruments. The musicians capture Schubert's distinctive blend of beauty and angst’ (The Observer)

‘This superb CD is [The Takács Quartet's] first for Hyperion: immaculate playing and sublime beauty’ (The Independent)

‘This is intense music-making of very high quality indeed’ (International Record Review)

‘It is a considerable coup for Hyperion to sign up the Takács Quartet. They are currently the greatest string quartet in the world … the first product of the group's new partnership is outstanding … the recording quality is ideal—natural, never aggressive. This disc is a model for what chamber music should be’ (The Guardian)

‘The sharpness and subtlety of this Death and the Maiden takes it to the top of available versions. With this superb disc the collaboration couldn't have got off to a better start’ (The Times)

‘The quartets … receive performances that do radiant justice to their genius. That of the D minor is prodigious. I have never heard the panic-stricken finale—music whose audacities still take the breath away—played more ferociously. The Takács also find memorably hushed sounds for the twilight world that much of both works inhabits’ (The Sunday Times)

‘Edgy, inspired playing, with enough broody lyricism to set the atmosphere of the A minor's opening in a few notes, and to balance its outwardly more cheerful finale with a disingenous wistfulness that tells us we're hearing the tip of Schubert's emotional iceberg. Death and the Maiden is given a high-octane treatment that exposes Schubert's raw nerve-endings with strong tempi and a near-violent intensity of tone’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘Another great achievement of this recording is the sound. The engineers really surpassed themselves; it is natural, reverberant and crystal clear—always bright and detailed. The Takács Quartet's move from Decca to Hyperion certainly seems to be a successful marriage … a worthy contender among the elite of Schubert string quartet recordings’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘The ensemble, even with a new viola player, is impeccable—this is still a quartet that sounds as though it breathes and thinks as one – and some of leader Edward Dusinberre’s playing is intensely beautiful. The recording is superb: up close and personal, so all the detail’s there, yet there’s enough ambient detail to stop it from becoming too invasive. It’s the first recording the Takács has made for its new label Hyperion, and they must be thrilled with it’ (CDReview)

‘The impassioned beginning of Death and the Maiden sweeps all before it, and the jittery refrain from the finale sounds like a madman's jig, different each time it appears, too. The Rosamunde is simply heartbreaking. The playing from all four instruments is spectacular in its force and finesse. For once, that abused term 'definitive' is absolutely justified’ (The Dallas Morning News)

‘Now, with veteran San Francisco Symphony principal violist Geraldine Walther replacing their former violist, their new recording that pairs Schubert's Death and the Maiden and Rosamunde string quartets (Hyperion) retains if not magnifies the same impact. The essential interplay and cooperation between viola and cello that make the slow movement of Death and the Maiden sing with such devastating eloquence are reinforced by the heart-breaking sweetness and forceful cries of first violinist Edward Dusinberre. These are great musicians, with veteran second violinist Karoly Schranz and cellist Andras Fejer equally eloquent. The performance is riveting, as shattering as it is ultimately uplifting. If the Rosamunde quartet represents a gentler excursion into melancholy, it is no less filled with beauty. Here again, the extraordinary oneness between the members of the quartet enriches musicianship as thought through as it is alive to every moment. What keeps the playing fresh is the tension and the constant interplay of pitch, rhythm, and nuance that declare Schubert's emotions as real and relevant today as they were close to two centuries ago’ (Bay Area Reporter, USA)

‘If their recent Hyperion debut is any indication, everything is pretty copacetic. The recordings capture the quartet's ability in concert to build a seemingly spontaneous rhetorical structure for its characteristic drive, fire and focus, while making each member of the audience feel that the quartet is playing for him or her alone … Hyperion has outdone itself for the release, choosing for the CD cover Hungarian artist Adolph Hiremy-Hirsch's darkly intense 1888 painting 'Ahasuerus at the End of the World', which powerfully reflects the composer's transformation of death into something beautiful’ (Strings, USA)

‘These are warm and insightful performances of two of Schubert's most affecting chamber music works, both written during a period of intense depression. Though they remain some of the bleakest music of his career, these two string quartets still demonstrate Schubert's sublime melodic gift, and with this disc the Takács Quartet makes a valuable addition to the recorded catalog of these important pieces. Recommended’ (CD Hotlist, USA)

‘Hyperion already has cornered the market with its roster of top pianists, and with this release the label looks about ready to do so with string quartets as well. On evidence here, the new partnership is operating in top form … 'Death and the Maiden' is frighteningly intense in its outer movements, with driving rhythms and a real feeling of danger, of music making 'on the edge' in the concluding tarantella … Hyperion's sonics do them proud. Music lovers have much to enjoy, and much to look forward to in this and future releases’ (Classics Today)

‘This is superb quartet-playing, the quality of which becomes even more formidable over several listens … the latest stage of the Takács Quartet's career has got off to a very impressive start’ (Classical Source)

«Certes nous n'avions «besoin» d'une nouvelle interprétation des Quatuors «La Jeune fille et la mort» et «Rosamunde», mais ce CD est imparable … les Takács ont plus que bein réussi leur entrée au catalogue Hyperion. Si leur version de «La Jeune fille et la mort» fait jeu égal avec les meilleurs, celle de «Rosamunde» se dégage vraiment comme un très grand moment de la discographie schubertienne» (Classics Today France)

«Ces deux grands quatuors à cordes de 1824 sont ici réunis ensemble dans une interprétation absolument renversante du Quatuor Takács. D’un jeu pleinement engagé, ils s’adonnent à merveille aux gammes tourbillonnantes et aux rythmes endiablés de la Jeune fille et la mort, ne relâchant qu’occasionnellement la vive tension de la musique de Schubert. L’équilibre des quatre instruments est très bien ajusté, il y a vraiment un son d’ensemble sans qu’aucun des solistes ne soit exagérément privilégié. Il en résulte que l’on entend magnifiquement bien les voix intermédiaires, le second violon et l’alto se révélant notamment avec des guirlandes et des motifs resplendissants, trop souvent étouffés et négligés dans d’autres versions. Un disque événement à savourer sans plus attendre» (ResMusica.com, France)

„Ein wunderbare Einspielung mit einem Quartett, das vielleicht bislang zu wenig Beachtung fand—Is there really a view of Schubert's String Quartet No 14 that hasn't yet been considered? Is it possible to add to the already countless number of interpretations one that is fresh and new? On hearing this recent recording by the Takács Quartet, the answer has to be 'Yes!' For here less emphasis is placed on Schubert's melodic language, and on the purely songlike, and much more weight is given to the sense of dramatic development so important in this work: an intensive interplay with the formal material, with the expressive power of communication itself. And so the Takács Quartet builds up a musical portrayal as intoxicating as it is charged with emotion, one of a kind that has never been heard before. Beauty of tone is not the main aim here, but rather the harmonious euphony of the different voices, here achieved so superbly: above all in the quartet's second movement, the variations, before melancholy and despair take a rest during the Presto, then culminate completely in the Tarantella of the Finale. The recording of the Quartet No 13, the so-called Rosamunde also shows the same approach of constant urgency, possibly expressing Schubert's intentions far better than the usual meticulously reproduced melodic treasury. A marvellous recording, by a quartet to which perhaps too little attention has been paid so far“ (Ensemble, Germany)
Schubert’s two quartets of 1824 seem to be suffused with regret for the lost world of his youth, and the String Quartet in A minor D804, in particular, is one of the most hauntingly melancholy pieces he ever wrote. Its minuet harks back to his setting of a stanza from Schiller’s Die Götter Griechenlands (‘The Greek Gods’), also in A minor, which he had written some five years earlier, and which poses the question ‘Schöne Welt, wo bist du?’ (‘Beautiful world, where art thou?’). The turn to the major for the trio of Schubert’s minuet coincides with Schiller’s plea: ‘Kehre wieder’ (‘Come back’).

The minuet is not the only portion of the A minor Quartet to be based on pre-existing material. The opening pages of the slow movement are transcribed from the B flat major Entr’acte in the incidental music Schubert had recently written for the play Rosamunde. The theme, with its pervasive dactylic rhythm, is typically Schubertian, and it was to reappear in a slightly different form in the composer’s famous B flat major Impromptu for piano of 1827 (D935 No 3). What is remarkable about the Quartet’s slow movement is the manner in which Schubert manages to imbue the innocuous-sounding tune with symphonic tension.

In marked contrast to Schubert’s D minor Quartet, all four movements of the A minor work begin pianissimo, and it was perhaps this unusual feature that led Moritz von Schwind to remark on the delicateness of the work as a whole. In the opening movement, the melancholy main theme is actually preceded by two bars of bare accompaniment—partly in order to soften the first violin’s thematic entry, but also to throw into relief the shuddering rhythmic figure that underpins the accompaniment. The same figure runs like a guiding thread through the Quartet’s opening pages, and it makes a dramatic return much later, at the climax of the development.

As for the finale, it is a much gentler affair than the whirlwind tarantella that concludes ‘Death and the Maiden’. There is, perhaps, a hint of the gypsy style in its theme, with its ‘Hungarian’ grace-notes. They make a return, transferred from violin to cello, at the movement’s climax, and again during the closing bars. The main second idea, like the first, is given out pianissimo—this time in the style of a distant march. At the end, the music seems on the point of fading away, before Schubert appends two peremptory chords to bring proceedings to an emphatic close after all.

from notes by Misha Donat © 2006

Les deux quatuors à cordes de 1824 semblent baignés de regrets de l’univers perdu de la jeunesse et le Quatuor à cordes en la mineur D804, notamment, est l’une des pièces schubertiennes à la mélancolie la plus lancinante. Son menuet rappelle la mise en musique d’une stance de Die Götter Griechenlands («Les dieux grecs») de Schiller, également en la mineur, écrite par Schubert quelque cinq ans plus tôt, et qui pose la question: «Schöne Welt, wo bist du?» («Monde de beauté, où es-tu?»). Le passage en majeur pour le trio du menuet schubertien coïncide avec la supplique schillerienne: «Kehre wieder» («Reviens»).

Le menuet n’est pas la seule portion du Quatuor en la mineur fondée sur un matériau préexistant. Les pages initiales du mouvement lent sont ainsi la transcription de l’Entracte en si bémol majeur extrait de la musique de scène que Schubert avait composée peu auparavant pour la pièce Rosamunde. Typiquement schubertien, le thème au rythme dactylique omniprésent devait resurgir, sous une forme légèrement différente, dans le fameux Impromptu pour piano en si bémol majeur de 1827 (D935 no 3). Le caractère remarquable du mouvement lent du Quatuor tient à la manière dont Schubert parvient à insuffler une tension symphonique à une mélodie en apparence innocente.

Contrastant fortement avec le Quatuor en ré mineur, les quatre mouvements du Quatuor en la mineur commencent pianissimo, et peut-être fut-ce cette caractéristique inhabituelle qui amena Moritz von Schwind à parler de la délicatesse d’ensemble de cette œuvre. Dans le mouvement d’ouverture, le thème principal mélancolique est en réalité précédé de deux mesures d’accompagnement dépouillé—pour adoucir l’entrée thématique du premier violon, mais aussi pour faire ressortir la figure rythmique frissonnante qui étaye l’accompagnement. Tel un fil conducteur, cette même figure parcourt les premières pages du Quatuor avant de faire un retour dramatique bien plus tard, à l’apogée du développement.

Le finale est beaucoup plus doux que la tarentelle tourbillonnante qui conclut «La jeune fille et la mort». Avec ses notes d’agrément «hongroises», son thème renferme peut-être un soupçon de style tzigane. Ces mêmes notes d’agrément reviennent, transférées du violon au violoncelle, à l’apogée du mouvement puis dans les mesures conclusives. La seconde idée principale est, comme la première, énoncée pianissimo—cette fois dans le style d’une marche lointaine. À la fin, la musique semble sur le point de s’évanouir avant que Schubert n’appose deux accords péremptoires pour amener les choses à une conclusion emphatique, au bout du compte.

extrait des notes rédigées par Misha Donat © 2006
Français: Hyperion Records Ltd

Schuberts zwei Quartette von 1824 scheinen vom Bedauern um den Verlust der Jugend erfüllt zu sein. Besonders das Streichquartett in a-Moll D804 gehört zu den beklemmendsten melancholischen Stücken, die der Komponist überhaupt schrieb. Das Menuett greift zurück auf Schuberts ungefähr fünf Jahre zuvor komponierte Vertonung eines Verses aus Schillers Gedicht Die Götter Griechenlands, die auch in a-Moll steht und die die Frage stellt: „Schöne Welt, wo bist du?“. Die Wendung nach Dur im Trio von Schuberts Menuett entspricht Schillers Flehen: „Kehre wieder“.

Das Menuett ist nicht der einzige Abschnitt des A-Moll-Quartetts, der auf schon existierendem Material beruht. Die ersten Seiten des langsamen Satzes sind Bearbeitungen von Teilen des B-Dur-Zwischenspiels aus der Schauspielmusik, die Schubert kurz zuvor für das Theaterstück Rosamunde komponiert hatte. Das Thema mit seinem bestimmten Daktylusrhythmus ist typisch Schubert. In leicht abgewandelter Form wird es noch einmal in Schuberts berühmtem Impromptu für Klavier in B-Dur von 1827 (D935, Nr. 3) wiederkehren. Das Bemerkenswerte am langsamen Satz des Quartetts ist die Art, mit der es Schubert gelingt, das harmlos klingende Thema mit sinfonischer Spannung zu laden.

Im deutlichen Gegensatz zu Schuberts D-Moll-Quartett beginnen alle vier Sätze des A-Moll-Quartetts pianissimo. Vielleicht war es dieser ungewöhnliche Umstand, der Moritz von Schwind zu der Äußerung veranlasste, das Quartett sei „im Ganzen sehr weich“. Im ersten Satz erklingen vor dem melancholischen Hauptthema sogar zwei Takte reine Begleitung—teils, um den Themeneinsatz der ersten Violine zu dämpfen, teils aber auch, um die zitternde rhythmische Geste hervorzuheben, die die Begleitung charakterisiert. Die gleiche Geste zieht sich wie ein roter Faden durch die ersten Seiten des Quartetts. Viel später, auf dem Höhepunkt der Durchführung, tritt sie wieder dramatisch in Erscheinung.

Der Schlusssatz ist eine viel sanftere Angelegenheit als die Wirbelwindtarantella, die den „Tod und das Mädchen“ beschließt. Hier, im Thema des letzten Satzes des A-Moll-Quartetts, vernimmt man vielleicht dank der „ungarischen“ Vorschläge einen Anklang an Zigeunermusik. Die Vorschläge kehren auf dem Höhepunkt des Satzes, dort allerdings auf dem Cello anstatt der Violine, sowie in den abschließenden Takten wieder. Der wichtigste zweite thematische Gedanke wird wie das Hauptthema pianissimo vorgestellt—diesmal im Stile eines Marsches aus der Ferne. Am Ende scheint die Musik fast zu verklingen. Da fügt Schubert zwei energische Akkorde an, die das Geschehen plötzlich resolut abwickeln.

aus dem Begleittext von Misha Donat © 2006
Deutsch: Elke Hockings

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