MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             

CD REVIEW



Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

alternatively AmazonUK   AmazonUS

 

 

Ferdinand RIES (1784-1838)
Flute Quartets, Op. 145
Flute Quartet in C major, Op. 145 No. 1 [17:35] Flute Quartet in E minor, Op. 145 No. 2 [19:22] Flute Quartet in A major, Op. 145 No. 3 [19:34]
John Herrick Littlefield (flute), Aaron Boyd (violin), Ah Ling Neu (viola), Yari Bond (cello)
rec. June 2006, Sacred Heart Chapel of the Dominican Convent, Sparkill, New York. DDD
NAXOS 8.570330 [56:33] 


 


I hadn’t heard much of Ries’s music before this CD. His father, Franz, had been Beethoven’s violin teacher, and Ferdinand was sent to study piano under Beethoven in Vienna. At Beethoven’s suggestion, he also studied composition with Beethoven’s teacher Albrechtsberger. Ferdinand Ries and Beethoven remained friends for the duration of Beethoven’s life. He went to England in 1813, where he remained for eleven years, before returning to retire to Germany in 1824, where these flute quartets were written.

Revived through research by this CD’s flute player, John Herrick Littlefield, these three quartets are varied in character. The Quartet No. 1 in C major has a distinctly classical feel, with quotes from Mozart. Beethoven’s influence can also be keenly felt, especially in the third movement, Scherzo and Trio. The finale, Allegro all’espagnola, is full of Spanish character and demonstrates the more fun-filled side of Ries’s personality. Littlefield handles the technical passages well, despite occasional lapses in the clarity of articulation. 

The E minor Quartet begins with a grandiose opening, followed by virtuosic semiquaver displays. This is handled well by all the performers, with evenness and security of technique. The balance is good and John Herrick Littlefield’s sound soars over the strings. The strings match each other well in conversational passages and the intonation is good. The Andante is expressive and played with sensitivity and delicate phrasing. There is a charming moment in the Trio section of the Menuet and Trio [Track 7, 1:39] which once again gives away a light-hearted view of the composer.  The players control this change of character well, and their sound is full of charm.

The final quartet follows on seamlessly from the previous one, as it is in the dominant, and feels almost as if this group of three were intended to be heard as a set. There are some minor string intonation issues here, but this brief moment is followed by some fine playing from the violin and viola. The Allegro is played with passion and building tensions; this is very much composed in the Romantic style one would expect from the dates of the composer (1784-1838). Following a stylishly performed Adagio, the final movement is a cheerful Allegro, providing a rousing and entertaining ending to the set of quartets. 

Overall, the playing is generally good; Littlefield and his colleagues clearly have and understanding and enjoyment of the music. Despite a few scrappy moments, the sense of ensemble is good, and one gets the impression that these players have worked together for a number of years. The recording quality is good, with each line clearly defined, though I would perhaps have liked the cello to have been brought out more in the balance.  The music is enjoyable to listen to; while perhaps not of the same quality of Beethoven, these pieces make an interesting addition to the concert repertoire.

Carla Rees

 

 

 


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools




Return to Review Index

Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.