Reviewing the companion
disc with the first three quartets from
Op. 2 (Naxos 8.554696) (review)
I expressed my delight at both the playing
and the music itself. These quartets
have been unplayed and unheard for far
too long. The delight is undiminished
after hearing this sequel, played with
a freshness of tone and approach and
an almost nonchalant elegance that is
really infectious.
In his day Pleyel was
revered as one of the foremost contemporary
composers. His present day reputation
rests mainly on his activities as a
piano manufacturer and on the concert
hall in Paris, carrying his name, Salle
Pleyel.
Contrary to the norm
of the time - read Haydn - most of his
quartets are three-movement structures,
the only exception being the E flat
major quartet on this disc. The Allegro
first movement starts and ends with
a few dark chords but in between the
movement is filled with vitality and
light. The second movement, Adagio,
is decidedly elegiac in character, hardly
moving at all during the first three
minutes; then, after a long pause, it
takes a new direction but the whole
movement is one of sighs. The following
minuet has an almost rustic charm, far
from the artificial staterooms where
the string quartets belonged. It is
frustratingly short, just 1:23, but
the positive atmosphere is retained
in the energetic Allegro assai,
superbly played as with the rest of
the quartet.
The quartet in B flat
major is also one that revives the spirits.
The Allegro is light and springy,
dominated by the first violin, the Andante
cantabile is a sunny idyll and the
concluding Rondo: Grazioso dances
and smiles. No conflicts here and it
ends with a joyful accelerando.
The D major quartet
is also high-spirited music but the
Allegro has some streaks of melancholy.
It is worth noticing how inventively
Pleyel "orchestrates" the
music. There is a charmingly melodic
Allegretto that almost cries
out for a suitable text. The melody
is then elaborated in a series of most
inventive variations. The quartet, and
the whole set, is then rounded off with
a brief Presto movement, played
attacca. The four instruments gallop
along like four eager Ascot horses abreast.
An utterly stimulating
issue, like its forerunner, excellently
recorded by Norbert Kraft and Bonnie
Silver. The liner notes, by Allan Badley,
are identical with the ones for volume
one and could preferably have been a
little more explicit about each of the
quartets. On the other hand this is
music that explains itself, so why bother.
This is music for happy listening.
Göran Forsling
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