BaL 24.11.18 - Mendelssohn: String Quartet no. 2 in A minor Op.13

[jayne lee wilson]

Elias Quartet Mendelssohn Op.13

Outstanding for its naturalness, clarity of line, close understanding of part-to-whole, never any exaggeration of tempi or overt rubato, no rhetorical look-at-us flourishes; it has that essential urgency, so vital to get across in early Mendelssohn (Op. 12, 18, 20, and the still very underrated 1st Symphony - as much a masterpiece as those chamber works IMV).
I always feel there needs to be a sense of youthful quest about this music, embarking on a great adventure; the Elias’ finale is waspishly quick, with that almost Schubertian sense of fleeing from a threat very vividly expressed; always with utter control, not a detail missed or underplayed; the cyclic references back very clear; perfectly paced. Warm, well-balanced sound, set fairly close but never too oppressive.

I still prefer those Leipzigers, who for me have all those qualities and even greater purity of articulation/expression. Better sound too - more spacious yet intimate, a cool, smooth transparency; very wide dynamic range.
My preference is almost as much a question of sound: I love the uncompromisingly natural MDG approach. But the Leipzig Quartet’s playing has always found a special response in me; I can’t pretend to the least objectivity about it....

[jayne lee wilson]

....One of the reasons the last Mendelssohn quartet, OP.80, is so moving is that it's a relatively rare example of Mendelssohnian emotional extremity, the loss of classical "control", an outpour of grief and rage over his loss, the more shocking for the attempt to hold back the tide early on, in a stunningly brief, disruptive last movement - the finale finally hurtling headlong to despair in a manner that does recall the mood of Schubert of d810 etc.

… Not that this intensity wasn't already there at the start of his remarkable, brief life - in the OP.13 Quartet's finale, tracing a dramatic course from the shock (it really is the only word) of its opening recitative, through the allegro's almost-ride-to-the-abyss, to the return at the end, of that gravely serene slow introduction the whole work begins with....... rather more there than a homage to Beethoven.
For me Op.13 is as creatively inspired a response to the late LvB quartets as Brahms' 1st is to the Beethoven Symphonies.

(And do take another look at Symphony No.1, for the same reasons....best: LSO Live/JEG, who really get to the febrile intensity at the heart of it...HIPPs- moderne, as is Musikkollegium/Zehetmair, MDG)

[Master Jacques]

AS for Op.13, I was disappointed with the Chiaroscuros... as a huge admirer of their more recent Haydn releases, I found this too constrained both tonally and expressively - too unvaried both rhythmically, and in their shaping of the line.

I agree with you about the contained, inert quality of the Chiaroscoros' Mendelssohn Op.13 (I didn't warm to their Mozart on the same disc, either). Most peculiar. But then (like you!) I am very fussy about Mendelssohn Quartets, which it seems to me rarely get played well. There has to be a sense of repose - especially in the Op.44 set - allied to bright intelligence and tonal warmth, and most quartets are too febrile and swift in the slow movements.

As a set, the one I turn to most frequently is a relatively little-known one - the Pacifica Quartet on Cedille. They tick all my boxes, at least.