Felix Weingartner - String Quartets Nos. 1 & 3 (Sarastro Quartet)

Information

Composer: Felix Weingartner

1. String Quartet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 24: I. Allegro moderato
2. String Quartet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 24: II. Adagio assai
3. String Quartet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 24: III. Allegro molto
4. String Quartet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 24: IV. Vivace - Andante Tema con Variazioni
5. String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 34: I. Allegro commodo
6. String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 34: II. Allegro molto
7. String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 34: III. Poco adagio - Allegro giocoso

Sarastro Quartet
Ralph Orendain, violin
Roman Conrad, violin
Hanna Werner-Helfenstein, viola
Stefan Bracher, cello

Date: 2008
Label: cpo

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

Contrary to Harold C. Schonberg’s patronizing remarks about Felix Weingartner’s creative output, recent releases from CPO prove that the noted conductor was a much better composer than he’s given credit for. There’s plenty in his First and Third string quartets to hold your attention. The former’s Adagio assai alternates a plaintive, lyrical theme with animated, conversational material that prides itself on unexpected key changes. Also striking are the Scherzo’s declamatory unison passages and a tender Trio theme cradled by an eerie, high-register accompaniment. The first movement’s jaunty yet intense main theme returns in a more compressed manifestation at the fourth movement’s outset, followed by a substantial Theme and Variations.

If you weld ample late-Romantic string textures onto Schubert’s strange harmonic juxtapositions and vehement outbursts, you’ll get the gist of Weingartner’s Third quartet in its first two movements. The slow-movement introduction’s Wagnerian sensibility quickly fades as the players excitingly accelerate into an Allegro giocoso that answers the musical question, “What would Reger sound like if he had Dvorák’s knack for catchy tunes?”

The Sarastro Quartett’s polished and passionate performances make the most of the composer’s wide range of moods without overdoing it. While the bright sonics take on a metallic, slightly monochrome edge in very loud moments, they still convey vivid impact. The German annotations read better in the original than in the rather awkward English translation. This disc is self-recommending to collectors who wish to explore the string quartet genre’s obscure points of interest. I hope to write the same when Volume 2 arrives.

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2008/Sept08/Weingartner_quartets_7772512.htm
https://www.amazon.com/Weingartner-String-Quartets-Vol-1/dp/B0018BF15O

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Felix Weingartner (2 June 1863 – 7 May 1942) was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist. He studied at the Leipzig Conservatory, and was one of Franz Liszt's last pupils in Weimar. Weingartner was the first conductor to make commercial recordings of all nine Beethoven symphonies, and the second to record all four Brahms symphonies. Despite his lifelong career as a conductor, Weingartner regarded himself as equally, if not more importantly, a composer. Besides numerous operas, Weingartner wrote seven symphonies, a sinfonietta, violin concerto, cello concerto, orchestral works, string quartets, quintets and lieder.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Weingartner

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The Sarastro Quartet was founded in 1994. Three of its members (violinists and cellist) belong to the Musikkollegium Winterthur, one of Switzerland's most richly traditional and versatile orchestras. The Sarastro Quartet has developed a special affinity for well-known composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. On a tour to Argentina in 2007, the ensemble performed the string quartets of the Argentinian composer Constantino Gaito. The concerts and the recording of those works were enthusiastically received by audiences and critics alike. Other recordings of works by Felix Weingartner and Paul Juon are also highly regarded by critics.
http://www.sarastroquartett.ch/

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