This is the first of
the Spohr series on Marco Polo to come
my way. It completely rebuffs any idea
that Spohr is in any way a second-rate
composer. Aggressively progressive he
was not, that much is true; he was,
however, talented, searching and capable
of providing real delights and surprises,
as this well-recorded (warm, but not
muddy) disc testifies.
Spohr was nearing the
end of his tenureship as Kapellmeister
at Kassel when he penned these two quartets.
The first we hear, No. 24, is a delightful
work; the choice of the appealing key
of G major as home key was no accident!
Yaroslav Kresnikov’s violin is as eloquent
as they come. The slow movement is the
highlight, with nice ‘grainy’ pianos
from the players. This is interior music,
not late Beethoven to be sure but, surprisingly,
not too far off, especially when played
with such warmth and affection. The
Moscow Philharmonic Concertino String
Quartet’s players blend well while still
maintaining individuality.
Interesting that the
third movement is marked ‘Alla polacca’.
There is more than a touch of the rustic
here, and interplay is finely judged
between parts. The final Allegro movement
is quite disturbed - again seemingly
contravening the sunny G major home-key
- the repeated notes seeming to imply
a level of unrest. This is a lively
performance, with rhythms well sprung
and a great tossing around of motifs
towards the end.
The A minor quartet
dates from around the same time. Its
shadowy opening leads to more of those
eloquent exchanges, this time tinged
with sadness. Listeners dismissive of
Spohr on grounds of lack of depth of
expression need to hear this as a necessary
corrective. The slow movement - an Andante
as opposed to an Adagio - this time
is almost courtly, a source of joy that
does not possess the ambitions of its
predecessor. The quasi-improvised first
violin line around 4’10 is delightful.
The Scherzo, however,
is dark of mien - the quartet darkens
its tone in sympathy - and as if to
elongate this atmosphere the Andante
‘introduction’ to the finale is very
long ... and uneasy, harmonically unstable.
No joyous finale here; the close is
entirely appropriate with the music
just dying out.
The interesting and
understandably defensive booklet note
is provided by Keith Warsop who is chairperson
of the Spohr Society of Great Britain.
Do investigate. The
Moscow Philharmonic Concertino String
Quartet clearly believe heart and soul
in Spohr’s music. After hearing this,
maybe you will too.
Colin Clarke
Moscow Philharmonic Concertino String Quartet
(Yaroslav Kresnikov, Sofiya Krasnikova, violins;
Pavel Zhdanov, viola; Victor Kozodov, cello).
