BaL 26.01.19 - Schumann: String Quartet No 3 in A, Op 41

[vinteuil]

.

... I recall much enjoying the Zehetmair. I must listen again -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00007M846

.

[Bryn]

Hmm.... just a shame that MDG allowed very few off their label for streaming, including the lovely Leipzigers (in fact the label appears to be absent from Qobuz now) it is a unique set, textually and musically...

A feature of the original versions, unique to the Leipzig set, is that they keep the stringendo intro to No.2, which Schumann seems to have moved later to its place between the intro/allegro of No.1; personally I like having it in both, especially if listening to the works consecutively...
Still, the Eroicas have the stringendo on a separate track, so you can programme it in before No.2 if you wish - and the notes are helpfully explanatory about the history of it.

Just trying the Ysaÿe in No.1.... no match for the Leipzigers for definitional grip and sheer guttiness in the rhythmic passages (of which there are many) - and in the scherzo, there are some exciting additional effects on the MDG lost in the revision.
I found the Ysaÿe slightly too Romantic for my taste in the adagio, though they play beautifully, I must admit.

What a shame the MDG is expensive-purchase only.....the Leipzigers do probe the darker, deeper side of these works more than most. You should hear what they do with the remarkable hurdy-gurdy/adagio reference near the end of No.1.

It's a pity No.3 has so often hogged the attention, and a shame to underwrite it again. The BaL could easily have covered the Complete Op. 41 1-3, especially as so many recordings are now of the intégrale...

Re. Leipziger downloads, it is 'interesting' to note that MDG seem to have countenanced the making available of mp3s via Amazon, though not as a bonus with physical copies.

[silvestrione]

What is 'Third Ear' please?

[verismissimo]

Just been listening to Nos. 1 & 2 from this for the first time....Fine Arts Quartet... (re. 2006)...

https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/qu.../0747313015177

A sweeter, gentler style, some repeats omitted.... an unaffected "classic" quartet sound with a fine, subtle expressive range. Warm adagios, nimble, fleet scherzos... Really lovely, fluid playing.

What wonderful music this is...!

Yes, wonderful music indeed. And I'm also enjoying the FAQ set for all the reasons you give, Jayne.

It seems to me that these Schumann quartets are less popular than eg his symphonies and piano music because they are more 'classical', less obviously Schumannesque.

[edashtav]

Yes, wonderful music indeed. And I'm also enjoying the FAQ set for all the reasons you give, Jayne.

It seems to me that these Schumann quartets are less popular than eg his symphonies and piano music because they are more 'classical', less obviously Schumannesque.

Are they less Schumannesque, or does the rather straight playing in popular sets, such as Zehetmair, deny their fantasy and emphasise their classicism?

[Mal]

What is 'Third Ear' please?

'Third Ear' is another doorstop sized guide to "the essential" classical music on CDs, somewhat like the Penguin and Gramophone guides (which are my first two ears...) I find it useful to have as a supplement to these.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Classical-Music-Listeners-Companion-Essential/dp/0879306386

(Now £75 new! Ouch! The paper is fairly good quality, though the binding is not, so it might be worth picking up a second hand copy if you don't mind a risk of a few pages falling out...)

[silvestrione]

Thanks

[jayne lee wilson]

I liked you "guttiness" in post#13, even as I misread it as "gutsiness", Jayne, then I saw its stringy nature and that it was further defined by 'grip' which adds a pineful, resinous note. Your freedom and fantasy of expression is becoming akin to late Schumann!

Full marks for giving ( my autospeller insisted on 'forgiving') older recordings a fresh "spin"... note that I don't yet know the post hard-CD lingo...we must ask Jayne to conjure one!

Oh, various variants of playing or listening will do fine.... plenty of synonyms for streaming if you want them to convey positive or negative responses..

That BIS/Zehetmair album of 1 & 3 was the all-around Gramophone Record of the Year 2003.
IIRC I never fell in love with it, but now's the time for another go....

[edashtav]

Oh, various variants of playing or listening will do fine.... plenty of synonyms for streaming if you want them to convey positive or negative responses..

That BIS/Zehetmair album of 1 & 3 was the all-around Gramophone Record of the Year 2003.
IIRC I never fell in love with it, but now's the time for another go....

Streaming, oh yes, that's the usage, isn't it. I was hoping that you mightbwax more lyrical although I suspect wax cylinders were before your time.

Yes , now's the time, Schumann needs fantasy and flexibility. Zehetmair has taught us nwhat he wrote; now to lift the notes off the page and beyond imprisoning bar-lines.

[jayne lee wilson]

Well I could wax more lyrical but... be careful what you wish for (mon rêve familier etc...)....

It's not just Schumann who needs fantasy and flexibility is it? We all do now in GB and the wider world.....
But anyway.... more about these beautiful musical creations...later...

(Off now for some strong white wine (a Muscadet, unusual for one wedded to the Loire Valley usually..) with my GF Pizza & Salad....

[visualnickmos]

Hello Jayne,

I've been following your Schumann SQ thoughts; in a paragraph, how would you compare the Eroica Quartet with the Leipzigers? (ergo vice-versa!)

I wonder why it is that when one thinks "string quartets" Schumann isn't the first composer that comes to mind, although IMVVHO, his chamber music (that I've heard) is really rather wonderful.

[jayne lee wilson]

Hello Jayne,

I've been following your Schumann SQ thoughts; in a paragraph, how would you compare the Eroica Quartet with the Leipzigers? (ergo vice-versa!)

I wonder why it is that when one thinks "string quartets" Schumann isn't the first composer that comes to mind, although IMVVHO, his chamber music (that I've heard) is really rather wonderful.

The Eroicas are sui generis (at least, along with any other period-instrument groups; I haven't looked hard for them yet - are there any others in the Schumann?) because of their instruments of course: they have a marvellous transparency, lightness, buoyancy and range of colour modern-instrument quartets can’t match; but they play expressively too, with a beautiful vibrato-lite tone (nb: not vibrato-less), barely-perceptible but telling variation of pace and phrase, and subtle micro-dynamics. This can be addictive - I find it hard to listen to other groups right after them.
(Personally - if you had to choose one - they’d be a good library choice…)…

To some extent, the Leipzig's approach is similarly light and refined - theirs is not an especially rich or warm quartet timbre; which is exactly why I like them so much. They’re not even HIPPs-moderne really, but they have a parallel clarity, range of colour and rhythmical lift, a naturally expressive sense of phrase entirely without Romantic rhetorical emphasis.

[visualnickmos]

Jayne,
Many thanks for your thoughts on this. I feel I am very much drawn in the direction of the Eroicas. I'm listening to a fair amountof chamber at the moment, and will be something else to 'look forward' to in providing even a little solace in music, at a very, very difficult and sad time for me.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Very sorry to hear that, visnick - very best wishes.

[Bryn]

Jayne,
Many thanks for your thoughts on this. I feel I am very much drawn in the direction of the Eroicas. I'm listening to a fair amount of chamber at the moment, and will be something else to 'look forward' to in providing even a little solace in music, at a very, very difficult and sad time for me.

Sadly, for those who have not already got it, the Eroica's CD is only available at a premium price, these days, and the downloadable offerings are all restricted to CD quality at best, as far as I can see. Perhaps jlw knows better. Fortunately, having been bowled over by the Eroica's Mendelssohn, I got their Schumann CD at the time of its release.

[The free version of Grammarly tried to get me to remove visinick's comma after "moment". One good reason not to stump up for their paid version.]