Charles Villiers Stanford - String Quartets Nos. 3, 4 & 7 (Dante Quartet)

Information

Composer: Charles Villiers Stanford

• (01) String Quartet No. 3 in D minor, Op. 64
• (05) String Quartet No. 4 in G minor, Op. 99
• (09) String Quartet No. 7 in C minor, Op. 166

Dante Quartet
Krysia Osostowicz, violin
Oscar Perks, violin
Yuko Inoue, viola
Richard Jenkinson, cello

Date: 2018
Label: SOMM
https://www.somm-recordings.com/recording/charles-villiers-stanford-string-quartets-nos-3-4-7

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Review

I think it was George Bernard Shaw who first remarked that Stanford was at his best when he forgot to act like a professor and let his Irish roots show through. One achievement of the Dante Quartet’s ongoing Stanford quartet cycle is to show just how wide of the mark these off-the-peg judgements can be – even if it’s hardly surprising that they persist. All three of the works on this disc are premiere recordings, an astonishing state of affairs for what must surely be the most significant quartet cycle by any British composer before Frank Bridge. That alone makes this disc essential listening.

As for the music, Jeremy Dibble’s excellent booklet notes identify several recognisably Irish traits. But you don’t necessarily hear them as such. The feverish intensity of the jig that forms the finale of the Quartet No 4 (1906) might equally remind you of Schubert’s Death and the Maiden, just as Stanford’s questioning, chromatic opening gestures suggest more modern developments in Europe. True, Mendelssohn is the presiding spirit in No 3 (1896), and there’s a sense of increased clarity and lyricism in No 7 (1919) – a hint of a ‘late style’? Lucid, idiomatic string-writing comes as standard throughout.

But still, the point stands. These are distinctive, fully achieved works by a composer with a profoundly serious artistic purpose. They’re each worth hearing, and the Dante Quartet go at them with red-blooded gusto and an energy that’s clearly born from the thrill of discovery. You might wish, at times, that they’d let the music breathe a little more freely: these aren’t what you’d call ‘lived-in’ performances. Hopefully those will come. For now, though, Somm and the Dantes have broken important new ground with impressive commitment.

-- Richard Bratby, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2018/Sep/Stanford_quartets_SOMMCD0185.htm
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2018/Oct/Stanford_quartets_SOMMCD0185.htm

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Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor. Some regarded Stanford, together with Hubert Parry and Alexander Mackenzie, are responsible for a renaissance in music from the British Isles. In 1882, aged 29, he was one of the founding professors of the Royal College of Music, where he taught for the rest of his life. From 1887 he was also Professor of Music at Cambridge. His students included Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams and many more. His music was eclipsed in the 20th century by that of Edward Elgar as well as his former pupils.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Villiers_Stanford

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The Dante Quartet, founded in 1995, is one of the UK’s finest ensembles, known for its imaginative programming and impassioned performances. Frequently heard on Radio 3, the Quartet and has appeared many times at Wigmore Hall and Kings Place, as well as at the UK's foremost festivals and music societies. They have made many acclaimed recordings for Hyperion, Signum and SOMM labels. Committed also to teaching, they have created an annual string quartet course in France. The Quartet has been honoured with the Royal Philharmonic Society Award and also international awards for its recordings.
https://dantequartet.org/

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