Nikolai Myaskovsky - Complete String Quartets Vol. 1 (Taneyev Quartet)

Information

Composer: Nikolai Myaskovsky

• (01) String Quartet No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33 No. 1
• (05) String Quartet No. 2 in C minor, Op. 33 No. 2
• (08) String Quartet No. 3 in D minor, Op. 33 No. 3

Taneyev Quartet

Vladimir Ovcharek & Grigory Lutzky, violins

Vissarion Solovyev, viola

Josef Levinson, cello

Date: 1983/2007

Label: Northern Flowers

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

Review

As stock in Bartók's string quartets dropped in the West, stock in Shostakovich's string quartets rose. But increasing interest in the Soviet composer's 15 quartets failed to spark a similar interest in the 13 quartets by fellow Soviet composer Nikolay Myaskovsky. In the digital age, there has so far been only one recording of the complete cycle, the Taneyev Quartet's from the early '80s. Previously released in the West by Russian Disc in the '90s in diverse couplings, the Taneyev's recordings are reissued here by Northern Flowers in much more sensible chronological order. Thus the first volume contains the composer's first three published string quartets of his Opus 33 set from 1930 (the fourth and final quartet from Opus 33 will presumably appear as the opening work of the second volume).

Each of the three works is distinctly different in form but conspicuously the same in content. The First in A minor is a massive four-movement work of unrelenting gloom. The Second in C minor is a more compact but no less disconsolate work. The Third, actually a rewritten version of a quartet from 1911, is in two huge movements, a grimly monumental Allegro non troppo malinconico followed by a bleakly desolate Tema e variazioni. Late-romantic in gesture and harmonic language, all three works show Myaskovsky's compositional mastery along with his obsession with darkness, despair, and death. The performances sound like more than another gig for the Taneyev. There's real grit in the group's tone and honest emotion in its intensity. The Soviet-era stereo recording is rough at climaxes but cleaner than one might have guessed considering the source. While not for everyone, Myaskovsky's quartets may appeal to listeners looking for a middle ground between the pessimism of Rachmaninov and the nihilism of Shostakovich.

-- James Leonard, AllMusic

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

Nikolai Myaskovsky (20 April [O.S. 8 April] 1881 – 8 August 1950) was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is sometimes referred to as the "Father of the Soviet Symphony". Myaskovsky wrote a total of 27 symphonies (plus three sinfoniettas, three concertos and works in other orchestral genres), 13 string quartets, 9 piano sonatas as well as many miniatures and vocal works. He is professor of composition at Moscow Conservatory from 1921 until his death, and há an important influence on his pupils. His students include big names such as  Aram Khachaturian, Dmitri Kabalevsky, Rodion Shchedrin and Boris Tchaikovsky.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Myaskovsky

***

The Taneyev Quartet was formed in 1946 by four second-year music students at the Leningrad Conservatory who all shared the birth year of 1927. After graduation (1950-1951) the four players became members of the Yevgeny Mravinsky-led Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra. In the 1960s the ensemble developed a close relationship with Shostakovich, and in 1974 performed the premiere of his Fifteenth Quartet. The Taneyev Quartet has made numerous recordings, including the complete sets of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, and Taneyev's quartets, mostly for the old Soviet-era Melodiya label.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/taneyev-quartet-mn0001663421

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

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!