BaL 5.1.19 - Debussy: String Quartet.

[vinteuil]

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... yes, lots of good and interesting ones. I liked the extracts of the Danel recording, very much.

It wd've been nice to hear her thoughts on the Kuijkens and on the Brooklyn Riders...


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[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think the Ebene extracts sound a bit distant and lacking something?

Not just you - I did think that the recorded sound on those excerpts was indeed "distant"; I put it down to the Lo-Fi radio I was listening on. (Not too keen on the idea of having the prominent sniffs that LT mentioned, either.)

The first one I acquired years ago - go for it! It's FAB!

[Beef Oven!]

So far, enjoyed that opening 1931 performance (didn't catch the name of the group), Quartetto Italiano, and best so far for me, Quatuor Danel.

UPDATE: I've bought the download of the Quartetto Italiano and I've transferred it to my DAP to listen to this afternoon on a nice long walk

I shall listen to this BaL again and I suspect I will buy the Quatuor Danel, if my first impressions are anything to go by (I'm quite impressed with this group, having already acquired their complete string quartet sets of Ahmed Adnan Saygun, Weinberg, DSCH, and string quartets 2&3 and clarinet quintet by Hao-Fu Zhang)

[CallMePaul]

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... yes, lots of good and interesting ones. I liked the extracts of the Danel recording, very much..

My choice too, based on what I heard this morning. I may be a little biassed in the Danel's favour as I am a season ticket holder for their Manchester University concerts. Anyone who can get to them later this month should get to their complete cycle of one of this year's anniversary composers, Weinberg!

[edashtav]

Have to say theirs were the extracts I warmed to! Ordered.

I don’t know the Fauré work with which it is coupled as an added bonus.

I warmed more to the extract from the Andantino played by the Arcanto Quartet and have ordered it, partly because of the well-reviewed performance of Dutilleux's nocturnal string quartet. Unlike most other boarders, my shelves are not heaving with other versions of Debussy's G minor quartet, although I possess scores of it plus the Dutilleux and Ravel analogues. That's because I've regarded it, wrongly, as apprentice piece, an end to a tradition rather than a forward-looking score. The Arcanto's 'slow' movement showed the quartet's links to Debussy's contemporaneous score : L'Apres Midi. Elsewhere, in this morning's comparative review, I found 'sons' of this quartet in the chamber music of Frank Bridge who was a great Debussyan and, through the 'Bridge' of BB's teacher, to Britten's Simple Symphony.

I thought Laura was a little to ready to rule out versions with "sniffles-off', but I appreciate her warnings as plenty of folk get annoyed by such things and have to resort to Beecham's Pills.

[ardcarp]

I'm glad the Talich got several not unfavourable mentions. It's the favourite out of several I've got...some rather ancient

The Debussy and Ravel are SQs I will travel a long way to hear live in concert. Laura T. did mention at one point that there's nothing like hearing [the Debussy] live to appreciate what's going on. Er...well...yes.... Anyway, I enjoyed her review, which IMHO was well considered and well presented.

[Master Jacques]

BaL seemed over awfully quickly this morning, which tells us about how well-served this marvellous work is. I was specially interested by the Danel recording, as I like their work enormously (their Shostakovich cycle is my personal top choice.) They sound deeply involving, and their couplings are interesting too. As usual, when you have a few versions in your library, couplings do become an important consideration - I'm not sure I need any more Debussy-Ravel quartet couplings, for a start.

I felt oddly defensive about the reviewer's dismissal of the Tokyo 1977 recording, because when it comes to spiritual food, that's the one which always seems to me to balance warmth, empathy and intelligence to the ultimate degree. The ones in my personal library which I'm less sure about are the Ebene, which has some intrusive points of interpretation which have become irritating on repetition; and the Belcea, which after four or five hearings seems bland and middle-of-the-road.

I think I might cull them and grab the Danels instead!

[Beresford]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think the Ebene extracts sound a bit distant and lacking something?

The Ebene quartet do not wear their hearts on their sleeves, unlike the Arcanto and several of the older quartets. I've owned their CD for a few years. The emotional quality (not the SQ) could sound distant, but I would call it passionate, precise, and above all cool, as you might expect from four very cool looking youngish Frenchmen.

[Mal]

Have to say theirs (Ebene] were the extracts I warmed to! Ordered.

I don’t know the Fauré work with which it is coupled as an added bonus.

I have this, and I like it a lot; I find them very warm, and sprightly enough when needed. But, more, they seem to really get into this piece and put in an amazing all round performance. Bravo! They also play the Ravel quartet well, and the Fauré, plus the recorded sound is superb. It's one of my favourite chamber music discs. I'll probably stick with it as I didn't here anything to make me think, "must have this as a supplement".

[Mal]

The Ebene quartet do not wear their hearts on their sleeves, unlike the Acanto and several of the older quartets. I've owned their CD for a few years. The emotional quality (not the SQ) could sound distant, but I would call it passionate, precise, and above all cool, as you might expect from four very cool looking youngish Frenchmen.

I agree completely. They are both warm and cool :)

[Barbirollians]

Glad to hear the Italian mentioned favourably this time around . I was in and out of the garden so may have missed a bit but I did not hear mention of the winner last time the Belcea . From what I heard this seemed a well argued and illuminating review.

[BBMmk2]

I have the Belcea recording too. I won’t partwith it either!

[Nick Armstrong]

Have to say [the Ebène] were the extracts I warmed to! Ordered.

I don’t know the Fauré work with which it is coupled as an added bonus.

I have had this CD for some time (I got it as I think their Ravel, I think, or maybe the Fauré, was the version which emerged top in the French 'Critiques de Disques' programme) - the Fauré is gorgeous, Alison.

The 'husky' tone (which the R3 reviewer was dubious about) is a quality I love about this group, so it's horses for courses I guess.

Having reached the end of the thread since writing the above, I agree with Mal and Beresford on this recording....

And ferney: I'm not sure the 'sniff' factor was specifically mentioned in relation to the Ebène was it? I may be wrong in recollecting differently - in any case, it's something that's never struck me about the recording (and I'm a bit susceptible to the sniffers...)

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I also have the Italian, my first recording of the piece - it probably dates me, but I recall this one being hailed as THE classic recording... but the reviewer said I think that the Alban Berg version has been generally regarded in that light (more recently perhaps)

[Barbirollians]

Didn’t the Italian have a Rosette in the old Penguin Guide ? It was certainly still the one to have in the early 1980s.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

And ferney: I'm not sure the 'sniff' factor was specifically mentioned in relation to the Ebène was it?

No - you're quite right: it was specifically the Danel recording that LT said was "marred by some heavy breathing" (as opposed to the performance which she "loved"). The Ebenes and Emesch [??"Hermes"???] were coupled as "too breathy, sometimes even breath-less".