Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Volume 2 (CD review)

The Middle Quartets: Nos. 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. Dover Quartet. Cedille CDA 90000 206 (3-disc set).

By John J. Puccio

As you know, the German composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) wrote sixteen numbered string quartets and one, single-movement, unnumbered quartet in the final thirty years or so of his life. Since the Dover Quartet are determined to issue all seventeen of them on disc, this is the second volume, the Middle Quartets as they’re known, Nos. 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. Or, if you’re fussy about numbering, Op. 59, Nos. 1-3; Op. 74, “Harp”; and Op. 95, “Serioso.”

For those of you still unsure about who The Dover Quartet are, Wikipedia explains that they are “an American string quartet...formed at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2008 by graduates of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Rice University Shepherd School of Music. Its name is taken from the piece ‘Dover Beach’ by Samuel Barber,” which in turn is a setting for the poem by the English poet Matthew Arnold. The Dover ensemble “consists of violinists Joel Link and Bryan Lee, violist Milena Pajaro-Van de Stadt, and cellist Camden Shaw. In 2020, the quartet was appointed to the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music as ensemble-in-residence. Additionally, they hold residencies with the Kennedy Center, Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, Artosphere, the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, and Peoples’ Symphony Concerts in New York.” The Beethoven album under review is by my count the fifth one they have released on which they are the primary performers.

The Dovers play on instruments spanning three centuries. Mr. Link plays a violin by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, Paris, 1845. Mr. Lee plays a violin by Riccardo Antoniazzi, Milan, 1904. Ms. de Stadt plays a viola by an unknown maker from Brescian School, early 18th century. And Mr. Shaw plays a cello by Frank Ravatin, Vannes, 2010. Whatever the make and model of the instruments they play, the Dover Quartet make beautiful music together.

The first item on the agenda is the String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59, No. 1, written and published in 1808 on a commission from Prince Andrey Razumovsky, the Russian ambassador to Vienna at the time. Many music scholars consider it the first of Beethoven’s truly mature quartets, and even its length attests to this, being quite a bit longer than his previous efforts. In fact, it’s so long (almost forty minutes) it takes up the entire first disc of this three-disc set. The thing is, though, while it’s a long quartet, it seems shorter. Maybe it’s how one gets so completely swept up in the music making. Certainly, the Dovers appear to be enjoying themselves, which in music is paramount. Their instruments sing, and there was a great temptation for this listener to sing along with them if the music had any words. Well, OK, the third-movement Adagio is a bit too solemn for singing, but the Allegro finale with its “Theme russe” is so fully melodic, the Dovers practically croon it. Wonderful musicianship.

The String Quartet No. 8 in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2 and the String Quartet No. 9 in C major, Op. 59, No. 3 occupy disc two. Beethoven wrote and published them in 1808, also as part of the commission from Prince Razumovsky. (The three Razumovsky quartets are so strongly intertwined that people often think of them as a trio or as simply the “Russian Quartets”). Supposedly, Beethoven was inspired to write the second movement (Molto Adagio) of No. 8 as he pondered the stars and imagined the music of the spheres. The Dover Quartet play it gently, sensitively, graciously and do, indeed, conjure up the magic of the night sky. They conclude it with a rousing rendition of Beethoven’s Presto. Then comes No. 9, two of whose most prominent features are the similarity in its introduction to Mozart’s “Dissonance” Quartet and in its second movement’s Hungarian (and possibly Russian) influences. For me, this has always been the most unusual (and my favorite) of the trio, largely due to its surprises and inventions. The Dover players have fun with it, even in the more serious parts. By the time they reach the tumultuous finale, they’re in full swing and attack it with a heady gusto.

Disc three begins with the String Quartet No. 10 in E-flat major, Op. 74, “Harp,” written in 1809. Interestingly, Beethoven’s publisher gave it the nickname “Harp” not because it includes a harp but because of the quartet’s pizzicato sections in the first movement, where the player’s alternate notes in an arpeggio remind us of the plucking of a harp. It’s a delightful piece of music, and the Dover Quartet do it complete justice in a performance of playful elegance and flair.

The final selection in the set is the String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 95, “Serioso,” from 1810. It gets its nickname from the third movement, Allegro assai vivace ma serioso. Because it was so different from his other quartets (brief length, sudden outbursts, tonal liberties, unusual silences, and rhythmic oddities, among other things), Beethoven never wanted it played in public. He considered it more of an experiment than a finished product and didn’t want it on display. Thankfully, he was wrong, and we have it today for everyone to enjoy.

Producer Alan Bise and engineer Bruce Egre recorded the quartets at Sauder Concert Hall, Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana in December 2019 and July and August 2020. Although there is not a lot of hall resonance involved, it all sounds wonderfully clean and natural, with a warm, ambient glow. The sound is fairly close up but extremely smooth (perhaps a touch too smooth for some audiophiles) and eminently listenable.

JJP

To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click below: