The Supraphon label
has yet
again turned to Antonín Dvořák
for this disc of two excellent chamber
music scores performed by the Škampa
Quartet of Prague. The recording was
made in 2007 at one of the label’s favourite
locations the Rudolfinum in Prague
I have seen this exciting
quartet several times in recital over
the last few years and have been grateful
to have been able to monitor their progress
at first-hand. Without doubt they have
developed into one of the finest ensembles
on the international music scene. The
Škampas are frequent visitors to Britain
and I have attended two of their concerts
already this year. Coincidentally, this
very weekend I saw them again in recital
giving a remarkable performance of Janáček’s
String Quartet No.2 ‘Intimate
letters’ in Kendal as part of Lake
District Summer Music.
Since the Italian Quartet
(Quartetto Italiano) disbanded in 1980
the established heavyweights, despite
occasional personnel changes, have dominate
the chamber music world for some decades,
namely the Emerson, Talich, Takács,
Quatuor Mosaïques, Borodin, Kodály,
Trio Fontenay, Beaux Arts et al.
In recent years the dynamics of the
chamber music scene have been altering
with the split-up in 2005 of the renowned
Lindsay Quartet and the intention of
the distinguished Alban Berg Quartet
to cease performing in 2008. There are
now a handful of elite ensembles currently
on the music scene that I have seen
go from strength to strength. In recent
years these have progressed from ‘talented
newcomers’ to ‘masters of their trade’.
In addition to the gifted Škampas I
would also include as world class performers
their contemporaries, the Henschel,
Belcea, Pacifica and relative newcomers
the Pavel Haas Quartet.
Originally a five movement
work the String Quintet in G major
from 1875 was entered into a
competition entitled ‘My People’.
Subsequently the second movement the
Intermezzo (Notturno)
was removed from the work and is often
performed separately in versions for
string quartet or string orchestra.
An unusual feature of the score is the
inclusion of a double bass that provides
additional richness.
On this recording of
the Quintet the Škampa are augmented
by the services of double-bass player
Laurène Durantel. The French-born
musician studied at the Paris Conservatoire
and is a member of the Toulouse National
Orchestra. In addition, I have seen
her perform in chamber recital as a
member of Ensemble 360.
The Škampas provide
breezy and buoyant playing in the opening
movement marked allegro con fuoco.
It just bursts with attractive and contrasting
melodies and ideas. There’s energetic
and rhythmic playing with restless scurrying
in the Scherzo where Dvořák
makes free with Slavic folkdance elements.
The central section has a more subdued
character to provide a marvellous contrast.
Overflowing with melody the third movement
Poco andante with its distinctive
and gentle rocking theme is lovingly
played with tenderness and great appeal.
It is hard to imagine a better performance
of the slow movement than this and I
especially loved the innately sensitive
interplay between the instruments. In
Rondo form the light-hearted
mood of the final Allegro assai
is accorded sparkling and fresh-toned
reading.
I am able to recommend
two fine recordings of the String
Quintet, Op. 77 that would sit agreeably
in any chamber music collection. From
2000 in Prague the energetic and convincing
account from the Vlach Quartet, Prague
with double bassist Jakub Waldmann on
Naxos 8.555378 c/w Intermezzo,
B.49, Four Drobnosti, Op.75a
and Andante appassionato, B.40a.
I also admire the 2004 London account
from the Nash Ensemble with double bassist
Duncan McTier for its vivacity and confidence
on ASV Gold GLD 4011 c/w String Sextet,
Op.48 and Intermezzo for strings,
B.49.
The substantial and
joyous Piano Quintet, Op.
81 completed
in 1887 is composed in the Slavic idiom
that pervades so many of Dvořák’s
best works. It was written before his
extended stay in the United States of
America. Biographer John Clapham writes
that this Quintet, "probably
epitomizes more completely the
genuine Dvořák style in most of
its facets than any other work of his."
The Škampa are joined
on this recording of the Piano Quintet,
Op. 81 by English-born pianist Kathryn
Stott, a celebrated and popular soloist
in her prime. I recently heard Kathryn
Stott play the Ravel Piano Concerto
in G major at a concert in the
north of England in a performance that
made a considerable impression. Her
acclaimed 2001 Potton Hall recording
of Les Heures Persanes by Charles
Koechlin on Chandos CHAN 9974 remains
a particular favourite from my piano
music collection.
The Piano Quintet
opens with a good-natured Allegro,
a movement greatly infused with
the bucolic character of Bohemian folk
music. The Škampas are highly convincing
here where the tempi cannot settle and
fluctuate in an unsettling manner, concluding
with dazzling bravura. The second movement
titled Dumka is evidently based
on a ballad that originated in the Ukraine.
I loved the playing of the mournful
viola melody and the way the group communicate
that undercurrent of melancholy. Again
steeped in Bohemian folk music the Scherzo
is a Furiant in which the
Škampas gallop along with great vivacity.
In the Finale, a syncopated Allegro
in the form of a Rondo, the
players provide outstanding playing
that balances nostalgia with an underlying
seriousness. Making a perfect collaboration,
Kathryn Stott’s part is memorable especially
for her sensitivity and refinement brought
to bear on Dvořák’s inventiveness
and lyricism.
From the large number
of available recordings of the Piano
Quintet, Op. 81 my first
choice is the evergreen 1962 Vienna
account from pianist Clifford Curzon
and the Vienna Philharmonic String Quartet
led by Willi Boskovsky. Spirited and
highly persuasive this is classic chamber
music playing of the highest quality.
It is available digitally remastered
on Decca 448 602-2 c/w the Schubert
Trout Quintet, D667. Another
marvellous version is the fresh and
vital recording made circa 1993 by the
Talich Quartet with pianist Kazuko Mimura.
The recording is available
as part of a 3 disc box from Calliope
Cal 3229.1 c/w Dvořák String
Quintet, Op. 97, String Quartets,
Op. 61, 96 ‘American’, 105 and
106. In addition I remain an admirer
of the 2003 Bad Arolsen account from
the Leipzig String Quartet with pianist
Christian Zacharias for their assured
and committed performance on MDG 307
1249-2 c/w Dvořák
String Quintet, Op. 97.
Another fine version is from the Takács
with pianist Andreas Haefliger who together
blend passion with vitality on their
1998 Potton Hall recording.
I have the account on a single disc
on Decca 466 197-2 c/w Dvořák String
Quartet No. 10 and also as part
of a four disc set titled Takács
Quartet, A Celebration on
Decca 476 280-2 c/w Haydn String
Quartet, Op. 76/3 ‘Emperor’,
Mozart Serenade for strings,
KV 525 ‘Eine kleine Nachtmusik’,
Beethoven String Quartet,
Op. 18/5, Dvořák Five
Bagatelles, Op. 47 and String
Quartet in F major, Op. 96 ‘American’,
Smetana String Quartet No. 1 ‘From
my Life’, Borodin String Quartet
No. 2, Wolf Italian Serenade
for String Quartet, Schubert String
Quintet, D.956 and Bartók
String Quartet No. 4, Sz 91.
Recorded at the Rudolfinum
in Prague the Supraphon engineers have
here achieved a first class sound. The
presentation is enhanced by high standard
booklet notes. For those looking for
a single
disc that couples both the Dvořák
String Quintet, Op. 77
and the Piano Quintet, Op. 81
this excellent recording makes a confident
choice.
Michael Cookson
for details
Škampa Quartet: (Pavel Fischer (violin);
Jana Lukášová (violin);
Radim Sedmidubský (viola); Lukáš
Polák (cello)); Laurène
Durantel (double-bass) (Op. 77); Kathryn
Stott (piano) (Op. 81) 
