Ignaz Pleyel, who was
one year Mozart’s junior, was important
as composer, as teacher, as publisher
and as founder of the famous piano factory
in Paris. His compositions are largely
forgotten today, but a couple of discs
with symphonies, released some years
ago by Naxos and Chandos showed that
the neglect was undeserved. They are
well-crafted compositions and both melodically
and structurally attractive. That also
goes for the three string quartets on
this new disc, which constitute the
first half of his Op. 2 – the remainder
due for release at a later date. Since
he studied with Haydn it was maybe unavoidable
that he should also turn to the medium
of string quartet. This set, published
in 1784, is dedicated to Haydn. Papa
Haydn should have liked them but there
is no record of his opinion. Mozart,
on the other hand, lavished praise on
them, or maybe the set Op. 1 which was
published the same year. He wrote to
his father:
You will find them
worth the trouble. They are very
well written and most pleasing to
listen to. You will also see at
once who was his master. Well, it
will be a lucky day for music if
later on Pleyel should be able to
replace Haydn.
Well, that lucky day
never appeared and when Haydn died he
had already settled in Paris and was
largely busy with other things than
composing. Listening to this well engineered
and well played disc it is easy to endorse
Mozart’s opinion. They are undoubtedly
Haydnesque in so far as there is a richness
of melodic material and imaginative
use of it. They are un-Haydnesque in
one important respect – all three are
in three movements; Haydn almost invariably
employed four.
The first quartet,
in A major, has a lively and elegant
Allegro as its first movement,
played with élan by the young
musicians. The Andante grazioso
is quite melancholy and the final Menuetto,
is not all sunshine. It is dance music
and Pleyel doesn’t forget that, but
in the main it is rather sombre, which
Haydn’s menuettos could also be. Yes,
Haydn would certainly have liked it,
but I think he might have taken his
young pupil to task, saying: "Well
done, Ignaz, but you can’t let it end
there. You need a fourth movement."
And I think I agree with Haydn; a more
decisive end wouldn’t have come amiss.
Still this very likeable music, and
maybe even more so the second quartet
in C major. There is a youthful freshness
in the first movement that makes it
easy to understand Mozart’s enthusiasm.
The second movement is an Adagio
cantabile with a kind of gently
rocking melody that goes direct to the
heart – and is beautifully played. The
finale is like a promenade in the sunshine
in Grinzing, now and then running a
bit and then walking proudly again.
If there are some clouds shading the
sun in the first two movements, here
it shines uninhibited.
The third quartet is
in G minor, the key that brought out
some of Mozart’s most heartfelt music,
and it seems that Pleyel also finds
an outlet for his personal feelings
in this key. If this isn’t exactly early
romanticism it is at least Sturm-und-Drang.
The Adagio first movement is
remarkable music that I think Mozart
also would have been proud to have written
– and most of his famous G minor compositions
were much later works. The Allegro
assai, whirling by swiftly and lightly,
has a serious undertone even here and
ends quite dramatically, tempting the
listener to believe that this is the
finale. The "real" finale,
marked Grazioso, is more melancholy
than joyous, even though both elements
are present.
All through these three
quartets one hears a composer who refuses
to follow a standard formula; the inventiveness
is high and one can just wonder what
made these works go out of fashion.
In his lifetime he was regarded as one
of the foremost composers, maybe even
the foremost; perhaps his time
will come again. Fifty years ago Vivaldi
was all but unknown to the general music-lovers.
The Ensō
Quartet “is quickly becoming one of
America’s leading young ensembles” I
read in the booklet. From what I hear
on this disc, which is their recording
premiere, it’s no wonder. This is constantly
fresh and flexible playing, conveying
a splendid rhythmic feeling and
fine unanimous string tone. Recorded
in Canada by Norbert Kraft and Bonnie
Silver they are presented in the best
possible light and are to be congratulated
for a spectacular start to what I hope
will be a long recording career. Naxos
should not wait too long before releasing
the sequel.
Lovers of Haydn’s and
Mozart’s quartet music, and indeed lovers
of string quartet music in general,
should not miss the opportunity to hear
this fascinating disc.
Göran Forsling
Ensō Quartet 
