Bedrich SMETANA (1824-1884)
String Quartet No. 1 in E minor “From my Life” (1876) [27:45]
Leoš JANÁCEK (1854-1928)
String Quartet No. 2 “Intimate Letters” (1928) [25:42]
Hába Quartett (Sha Katsouris (violin I); Hovhannes Mokatsian (violin II);
Peter
Zelienka (viola); Arnold Ilg (cello))
rec. Haus der Chöre, Frankfurt/Main, Germany, 3-4 December 2008 (Smetana)
and 25-27 January 2009 (Janácek)
ZUK RECORDS 331 [53:31]
The first thing one notices about this CD is the very short playing time.
Why not include the first Janácek quartet as well? It would easily have fit
and is the usual companion on disc of the composer’s second work in the genre.
This is especially unfortunate since the performances themselves are first-rate
as is the recorded sound.
The Hába Quartett has an interesting history. Founded in Prague in 1946 by
violinist Dušan Pandula, it collaborated with contemporary composers both
inside and outside Czechoslovakia. The modernist Czech composer, Alois Hába
dedicated his last twelve quartets to the ensemble bearing his name. When
Pandula defected to West Germany in 1968, the quartet disbanded. He then re-established
it in 1984 in Frankfurt with his pupil Peter Zelienka. The quartet would now
seem to have a rather international cast, but sounds like a native Czech ensemble
to these ears. Comparing this recording of the Janácek work with a number
of others, mostly Czech, the Hába Quartett has nothing to fear in the comparison.
Smetana’s well-known Quartet No. 1 receives a dramatic performance, not short-changing
the romantic elements in the work. The Hába Quartett also brings out the dance
element in the second and fourth movements very well. In the second movement,
though, they employ more rubato in the introductory passage than other performances
with which I compared this one, before launching into the polka theme of the
movement. At first noticeable, one gets used to this without it detracting
from the interpretation as a whole. The lyricism of the third movement’s love
song comes across well. The finale dances joyously until everything comes
to a halt with the sudden, piercing high E by the first violin. The movement
then ends quietly, recalling themes from the first movement. Commentators
have often pointed out that the high E symbolizes Smetana’s onset of deafness.
The Hába Quartett captures well the contrast between the polka rhythms earlier
in the finale with the peaceful and poignant ending.
Janácek’s Second Quartet, one of his most personal utterances, also receives
sterling treatment by the Hába Quartett. One appreciates anew the solo passages,
as is also the case with the Smetana, and special praise is due to the violist.
After all, in this “love letter” to Kamila Stösslová, Janácek originally employed
the viola d’amore largely because of the name. A normal viola is most often
employed, as it is here. The ensemble playing, too, is impeccable. Tempos
for the most part are normal, but the quartet is not afraid to stretch things
a bit to make a greater effect. This is indeed a personal view of a very personal
work, which is carried off completely successfully. In the finale, for example,
the initial stomping dance theme is taken at a real clip — though not harried
the way the Smetana Quartet used to do it. Then the slower portions are taken
somewhat more slowly than usual, and the furioso sul ponticello is
truly played triple forte and sforzato. The effect is more powerful
than I have ever heard it. This is a winning account of one the twentieth
century’s greatest chamber works, an account that ranks up there with the
Škampa and Talich renditions. In addition, the quartet’s violist, Peter Zelienka,
wrote the excellent booklet notes.
If only this disc were more generous in its playing time, I could heartily
recommend it. As it is, most listeners will want both Janácek quartets together
along with another work or works.
Leslie Wright