These quartets by Ignaz
Pleyel lie in that uncertain but fascinating
hinterland somewhere between Haydn and
Beethoven. Pleyel was a pupil of Haydn
and unsurprisingly the older - and far
greater - composer’s influence can be
felt all the way through. On the other
hand, their harmonic language takes
them towards the world of Beethoven,
though Pleyel’s imagination was in no
way comparable to that of LvB.
These are however attractive
enough pieces, even if very superficial.
And they receive extremely persuasive
performances at the hands of the wonderful
Ensõ Quartet, who give the music
every chance to establish its individuality.
Each piece contains only three movements
– a sonata-like structure – and the
players make every effort to characterise
the movements and their different sections
as sharply as possible. The playing
is totally assured technically, and
ensemble is spotless. Perhaps the senza
vibrato is overused – all of the
quiet endings are done this way – but
I won’t quibble too much, because the
Ensõs have that invaluable quality
of making you listen.
Quartets 1 and 2 have
the expected ‘quick-slow-quick’ format;
this may partly explain why no.3, which
begins with an expressive Adagio,
is easily the most interesting of the
three works. The minor key provides
more intensity and harmonic richness,
and the slow opening throws the nervous
Allegro assai that follows into
appropriate relief. Whereas the first
two quartets are almost wholly dominated
by the first violin, this one has the
benefit of sharing the musical interest
more equally between the four members
of the group - Richard Belcher, the
Ensõs cellist, clearly relishing
his bustling part in the Allegro
assai. After the rather splendid
first two movements, I found the final
Grazioso (actually a Minuet and
Trio) slightly disappointing, with its
formulaic alternation of major and minor.
This music may not
be ‘deep’ or even especially original.
It is, however, interesting, attractive
and beautifully crafted, and we have
to remember that the composer was only
in his mid to late twenties when he
composed these quartets, still emerging
from his apprenticeship as a quartet
composer. I look forward to hearing
the remaining three works in this Op.2
group (hopefully to be issued on Naxos
by the same players) in order to experience
for myself the composer’s creative development,
hinted at in Allan Badley’s notes. The
recording is excellent, combining sufficient
intimacy with the lively ambience of
the Canadian church where they were
recorded; indeed, some may find the
acoustic a little too lively
– but not me!
Gwyn Parry-Jones
see also review
by Goran Forsling
Ensõ Quartet 
