A belated thank you for your support, Antonio.

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Josef Suk - String Quartets; Piano Quintet (Minguet Quartett)


Information

Composer: Josef Suk

CD1:
  • (01-04) String Quartet No. 1 in B flat major, Op. 11
  • (05) Quartet movement in B flat major
  • (06-09) String Quartet No. 2, Op. 31
CD2:
  • (01-04) Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 8
  • (05) Minuet in G major
  • (06) Ballade in D minor
  • (07) Barcarolle in B flat major
  • (08) Meditation on the Old Bohemian Hymn "St. Wenceslas", Op. 35a

Matthias Kirschnereit, piano
Minguet Quartett
Ulrich Isfort, violin
Annette Reisinger, violin
Aroa Sorin, viola
Matthias Diener, cello

Date: 2014
Label: cpo
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/josef-suk-streichquartette-nr-1-2/hnum/4501489

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Review

We do not hear enough Josef Suk. That thought strikes me whenever the rare opportunities arise to listen to the music of this Czech master as on this well-produced CPO set. The strongest works are undeniably on disc 1, where the two numbered quartets (1896, 1910 11) are separated by the 1915 revision of No 1’s Allegro giocoso finale. This proved, in a reversal of Beethoven’s experience with his Op 130, too remote in style and scale to make a satisfactory conclusion to this remarkably fresh, poised quartet. There is something of Mendelssohn’s spirit in its charm and youthful vigour which the Minguet Quartet catch very nicely in their lively performance. Whatever dissatisfied Suk about the finale does not seem obvious in this rendition, in which it seems of a piece with the other three spans.

The mature creator can be heard in every bar of the revised finale, which stands on its own as a fine and complex example of a dance fantasy. The Second Quartet, with its more ambiguous harmonic palette and darker tonal colouring, is an altogether deeper composition and one of Suk’s finest utterances in any medium. Its first three movements are slow-paced – all Adagio – with only the finale rising to a mild Allegretto; not until Shostakovich would another composer achieve a quartet as fine as this with a similar format.

Disc 2 features slighter works. Suk was only 22 when he completed Quartet No 1, although it was not his first essay in the form. He withdrew the D minor Quartet (1888) except for the central Andante con moto, which he liked well enough to revise in 1923 as a brief, independent Barcarolle in B flat. Pretty if insubstantial, it shows Suk’s early gift for melodic string-writing. The Ballade in D minor (1890) is twice the size of the Barcarolle yet still fairly light in tone and no Chopinesque romantic essay. The largest work is the Piano Quintet in G minor (1892 93) – the same key as Shostakovich, but there the parallels end. Revised in 1915, it remains oddly juvenile in feel for all Matthias Kirschnereit’s advocacy. The set completes with a neatly turned account of Meditation on the St Wenceslas Chorale (1914). Lovely performances, super sound from CPO.

-- Guy Rickards, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2015/Feb/Suk_quartets_7776522.htm
https://www.amazon.com/Josef-Suk-Complete-String-Quartet/dp/B00ODHYW1Y

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Josef Suk (4 January 1874 – 29 May 1935) was a Czech composer and violinist. Known as one of Dvořák's favorite pupils, Suk became very close to his mentor and later married Dvořák's daughter, Otilie. Suk was the grandfather of famed Czech violinist Josef Suk (1929-2011). Suk's musical style started off with a very heavy emphasis on what he experienced during his time with Dvořák, though this Czech-style influence eventually slowly became more German and Austrian in style. Suk, alongside Vitezslav Novak and Ostrčil, is considered one of the leading composers in Czech Modernism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Suk_(composer)

***

Minguet Quartet was founded in 1988. The group takes its name from Pablo Minguet, an eighteenth-century Spanish philosopher who attempted in his writings to make the fine arts accessible to the masses, and this idea is a chief artistic concern of the Minguet Quartet. The ensemble concentrates on the Classical-Romantic literature and modern music in equal measure, and has proven its commitment to compositions of the 21st century through numerous premieres. The quartet's current members include: Ulrich Isfort, Annette Reisinger (violins), Aroa Sorin (viola), and Matthias Diener (cello).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks
Links in comment
Enjoy!

8 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you so very much. Happy holidays!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you!! Incredibly beautiful music

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi there, would you be able to re-up this recording? THanks.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Buenos días, los links no funcionan. Suk es todo un gran descubrimiento para mi, gracias.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Choose one link, copy and paste it to your browser's address bar, wait a few seconds (you may need to click 'Continue' first), then click 'Free Access with Ads' / 'Get link'. Complete the steps / captchas if require.

    https://link-target.net/610926/suk-quartets-quintet
    or
    https://uii.io/R5HeZ
    or
    https://exe.io/I349Wfyl

    ReplyDelete