To have lived in
the shadow of Beethoven must have been the greatest cross a
composer could bear. Few have been more shaded by him than his
pupil Ferdinand Ries. Whereas other composers of the time, for
example Hummel, went their own sweet way, Ries undoubtedly absorbed
some Beethoven but this disc provides evidence that it was a
slow process. In the notes accompanying this release, Bert Hagels
suggests – and very plausibly on the aural evidence – that the
E flat quartet harks back to Haydn and the C major to Beethoven’s
Razumovsky quartets. The latter was written some twenty
years after its models, in the year of Beethoven’s death. To
be fair, it would be unrealistic to have expected an influence
from Beethoven’s late quartets when the whole world took so
much time to understand and appreciate them.
Ries wrote twenty-six
string quartets of which only eleven were published; the early
ones date from around 1798 and the last two from 1834. It is
not clear to me which of these, if any, have been recorded before.
A search of a large database of classical CDs found about ten
other discs devoted to this composer, none of which included
string quartets. These are not billed as première recordings
but as volume 1 of a series. No promises are made as to its
ultimate completeness, rather the biography of the Schuppanzigh
Quartett suggests that recording of “a representative selection”
is in progress.
Formally, these
are fairly conventional works based on sonata form, both in
four movements and each with a minuet. This is placed second
in the earlier work and third in the C major quartet. By way
of an aside, only two of Beethoven’s Op. 18 set, which were
written at the very end of the 18th century, included
minuets. In some ways the earlier work is more interesting,
and its last two movements are particularly pleasing: a deeply
felt adagio followed by a rondo marked Allegro moderato
which begins with a very memorable tune. The Schuppanzigh Quartett
is more moderato than allegro here but, in the end, this approach
seems well-justified.
In the C major work
there is virtually a quote from Beethoven’s Op.59 No.1 at the
beginning of the opening movement. As in the earlier work, the
music is tuneful and well-crafted, and does not outstay its
welcome. Being reminiscent of Beethoven is surely an asset although
I was not as bowled over by this music as I was by two of Ries’s
piano concertos which have recently surfaced on Naxos. Overall,
my view is that these quartets are worth hearing although CPO
is probably right not to commit to the complete oeuvre. Certainly
it makes sense to have them in the catalogue in preference to
more Beethoven quartet recordings, unless the performances are
very special indeed.
The playing of the
Schuppanzigh Quartett here is consistently impressive. They
are accorded an exemplary recording and the documentation is
good. I have just one significant gripe – this is short measure
at 52 minutes. Unless these works are Ries’s shortest two quartets,
another could have been included and would have made this an
even more attractive proposition. Nevertheless, with a mid-price
tag, the disc is still reasonable value.
This is a valuable
release of music by a composer who merits are yet under-recognised
on disc. With such committed playing and fine sound it can be
warmly recommended.
Patrick C
Waller
Schuppanzigh Quartett
