CD 1
String Quartet in E-flat Major, K.
428 (1783) [24:17]
String Quartet in B-flat Major, K.
589 (1890) [22:37]
String Quartet in C Major, K. 157
(1772-3) [11:22]
CD 2
String Quartet in D Minor, K. 421
(417b) (1783) [27:15]
String Quartet in G Major, K. 387
(1782) [29:30]
String Quartet in E-Flat Major, K.
171 (1773) [12:14]
CD 3
String Quartet in D Major, K. 499
(1786) [23:50]
String Quartet in B flat Major, K.
159 (1778) [11:49]
String Quartet in D Major, K. 575
(1789) [23:57]
These recordings
were originally released on the MusicMasters
label, and, while these three discs
were – in some circles still are –
available separately on the earlier
edition, Nimbus has kept the exact
programme content of each and boxed
them together. The original edition
was on 6 CDs, so if you are budgeting
for future Nimbus volumes I would
imagine there will be one more on
the way.
As part of a comparative
survey I brought out my old box of
the Hagen Quartett playing the early
quartets in a 3CD box DG 431 645-2,
now re-released as part of their complete
set. In general, the DG recording
has a greater sense of space, and
that of more air between the players.
The playing is meatier, and with more
silvery pureness to the solo lines,
but you have to love the warmth of
the sound made by the American Quartet
on those Stradivari instruments. These
only have K.157, K.159 and K.171 in
common for comparison purposes, but
it is this series of string quartets,
written between the absurdly young
ages of around 12 to 15 years old,
that can waken one to Mozart’s sheer
brilliance and virtuosity as a composer.
The seriousness of purpose behind
the Hagen’s playing brings these youthful
works to full life and colour, and
if I was abandoning ship and had only
one pocket spare it would probably
be the Hagen’s set I would take, but
I am perfectly prepared to admit a
certain amount of sentimental attachment
in this. The American Quartet’s playing
is equally committed, and if anything
even more full of the youthful joy
in life that these works seem to express.
For those intending
to embark on a complete set of Mozart
string quartets, there are a few competitors
around which might need considering.
At budget level there is the Naxos
series played by the Éder Quartet,
which as many fine qualities, but
has never really convinced me that
this was the ultimate experience to
be had in this music. The American
Quartet on Nimbus falls competitively
at a fraction above bargain price,
and the Hagen Quartett’s 7 CD set
come in at the next level, just undercutting
the well regarded Quartetto Italiano,
and Talich Quartet sets, which also
include other chamber music such as
the quintets, violin sonatas and the
like. The Quartetto Italiano on Philips
is excellent, but the 1960s and 1970s
analogue recordings are now becoming
a little long in the tooth. The Hagen
Quartett are superb on just about
any level, but with every nuance weighed
and considered in the subtlest of
detail there might be an argument
to say they are perhaps even too
superb. There is also the Amadeus
Quartet on DG on a 6 CD set which
has been around since 1988, but still
seems to command premium price. All
of these will do the trick on many
levels, so why consider these recordings
by the American Quartet?
Well, they do have
one unique selling point, and that
is the ‘matched’ set of Stradivarius
instruments used in the performances,
loaned by the Smithsonian Institution
and known as the Herbert R. Axelrod
Stradivarius Quartet. Reading the
notes, it would seem the cover photo
hides something of a fake. The only
known cello decorated by Stradivari
is currently in the Prado Museum in
Madrid, and the decorations from this
have apparently been copied photographically
and applied as transfers to the Smithsonian
cello, though I haven’t been able
to find out anything more about this
anywhere else. Perhaps some knowledgeable
expert can help me out here, but this
would seem to me the equivalent of
lifting some medieval illuminations
and plastering them on some other
precious manuscript because it wasn’t
pretty enough. If Stradivari had wanted
to decorate that particular cello
he would presumably have wanted to
or been paid to do so. I shall quit
fuming at this stateside sacrilege,
as it distracts from these excellent
recordings, but would like my protest
duly noted. What is true is that having
four Stradivarius instruments is by
no means a guarantee of excellence
in sonics or music-making, a concern
which is entirely diffused in the
marvellously warm and expressive playing
on these recordings.
Daniel Avshalomov
has written some detailed and interesting
notes for this set. Writing from a
perspective as viola player in this
quartet, he gives us some fascinating
insights into the priorities and thought
which go into working on such music.
Musicians as well as audiences will
do well to heed such warnings and
observations. Mozart is seen by such
greats as the Amadeus Quartet as the
final, almost insurmountable challenge,
"... because no other repertory
demands such balance, clarity, grace
and polish; because it is essentially
vocal; because it bruises easily in
the dissection and reconstruction
by which other music is beneficially
rehearsed ..." Showing an awareness
of the fragility and ease with which
the Mozart creation can be destroyed
is half the battle, and I like his
comment that, above all interpretative
considerations, "our aim is simply
to avoid getting our mortal thumbprints
all over" the music.
In this sense, the
American Quartet succeeds in many
ways. They have a sensitivity of phrasing
and lightness of articulation which
preserves the magical transparency
of Mozart’s music, and yet their warmly
expressive vibrato and dynamic thrust
do not run shy of projecting the humour
and humanity of these gems of chamber
music making. Not only are the instruments
well matched, but the players really
do form that sense of unbreakable
unity which is essential to this music.
There are no weak links, no quirky
eccentricities which make any one
player stand out – the character of
the playing is in the service of the
character of the music, and it is
this high standard of ‘inhabiting’
the score and playing the music with
as much apparent ease as breathing
that will bring me back to these recordings
on a regular basis. There has been
comment that the American Quartet
lacks some of the intimacy of some
other recordings, but to my mind this
is more a side effect of their unity.
This genuine singularity of approach
and execution means that the impression
of musical discourse and conversation
is less evident than with, say, the
Amadeus Quartet. At this level of
subtlety things become very subjective,
and in the end one just has to listen
and decide for oneself.
Are there any highlights
to be pointed out? With playing of
such uniformly high standard it is
hard to pinpoint moments of superlative
excellence, but if you have the chance
take a listen to the opening of K.575.
Uncomplicated simplicity is allowed
full expression in the first few bars,
but as the music unfolds and develops
the intensity grows and deepens accordingly.
It’s partly Mozart, partly the players,
but when you look up to see that only
two minutes of the exposition have
passed it seems as if many worlds
have been traversed already. Moving
on to the second movement’s menuetto
it is interesting to hear the timeless
effect the inner vibrato/intensity
of single notes brings: mask it with
some shellac hiss and turn on the
‘mono’ button on your amp and it could
be pass as one of those ‘old fashioned’
early recordings, but it still works
when communicating the expression
within the music. Almost every fragment
holds its own story and will reveal
its secrets to the alert listener,
but the American Quartet’s sense of
flow and structure never allows picky
detail to obscure the bigger picture.
If you are looking
for a beautifully recorded set of
Mozart string quartets played with
an almost absolute absence of flaws
or intrusive ‘interpretation’ then
these recordings by the American Quartet
will be right up your street. Having
them played on four Stradivari is
almost an incidental bonus, but should
be an added attraction for collectors.
The American Quartet may not have
the high-tensile excitement of the
Hagen Quartett, and may not inspire
to quite the dizzy heights of some
individual releases, but as I’m sure
many will agree; this isn’t always
what you want after a hard day in
the office. This set is of course
much more than just background fodder
however, and you can rest assured
that I shall be first in line for
the remaining releases from Nimbus.
Dominy Clements
American String Quartet (Peter Winograd
(violin); Laurie Carney (violin); Daniel
Avshalomov (viola); David Geber (cello))
