Recent Releases No. 53 (CD Reviews)

by Karl Nehring

Prism V. J.S. Bach: Choral prelude Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit, BWV 668; Beethoven: String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135; Webern: String Quartet (1905); Bach: Contrapuctus XIV from The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080. Danish String Quartet (Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, violin; Frederik Øland, violin; Asbjørn Nørgaard, viola; Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin, cello). ECM New Series 2565 485 8469

 

With the release of Prism V, the Danish String Quartet has now reached the end point of the Prism series of releases, in which, as the note on the back of the CD cover explains, “Lines of connection are drawn in the Danish String Quartet’s five Prism volumes from a Bach fugue through one of the late Beethoven quartets to the music of a subsequent composer.”  In the previous release in the series, Prism IV, which was reviewed here, that subsequent composer was Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847); with Prism V, however, the Danes take a longer leap forward in time, this time connecting Beethoven’s music with the 20th-century music of the Austrian composer Anton Webern (1883-1945). Another passage of time marked by the release of this album is the time it took the group to record all five albums. From the CD booklet: “Almost eight years have passed since we first put our bows to the strings and started one of the longest journeys we have embarked upon as a quartet. The five Prism albums, our recording project on ECM anchored around the five last string quartets by Beethoven. We started the series with the resonant chords of  Beethoven’s quartet in E-flat major op. 127. This monumental opening forms the entry gate into the promised land of the late Beethoven quartets, but in this case it also became the exit door from our life as a young string quartet. The Prism albums became our string quartet rite of passage… The Prism albums were an important part of our final development into what one might call a fully-fledged string quartet, and the recording process has gone hand in hand with substantial changes in our personal lives. The first album was recorded by four relatively fresh young men, now we are father of babies, toddlers and school kids. If nothing else, this project proves that you don’t need much sleep to play a string instrument.”

Something else this project proves is that there is more than one way to enjoy and appreciate the late Beethoven quartets. As I mentioned in my review of Prism IV, my introduction to string quartets period was a dive into the deep end of the pool: I went from never listening to a string quartet in my life to purchasing a box set of the late Beethoven quartets on LP (Yale Quartet on Vanguard Cardinal) and listening to them over and over again. I still tend to gravitate toward sets (now on CD), possessing currently the Calidore (review pending), Emerson, Medici, Takacs, Tokyo, and Yale. Occasionally I will listen to all five of the quartets from one of the sets over a day or two, but to be honest, once I finally became aware of the Prism series (alas, not until Prism III), I have begun to think that the Danish group has really come up with a brilliant concept: Hearing Beethoven hearing Bach, then moving forward. In Prism V, the Danes close the loop. They start with Bach, then on to Beethoven’s final quartet, culminating in the question and answer: “Must it be? It must be!” And then it is on to the quartet of Webern, a spare, haunting work in one movement. Although it is not all that long (18:01), it is the longest work that Webern ever wrote. Then for the final piece on the program the four musicians of the Danish Quartet play a Bach fugue, the music at the heart of the Prism project. But for this album they have chosen to present not just any Bach fugue, but rather the final, uncompleted Contrapunctus XIV “Fuga a 3 Soggetti” – the fugue that marks the end of the great master’s The Art of Fugue. Thus on Prism V we are presented the finale of the Beethoven’s immortal quartet cycle and the finale of the Bach’s immortal fugue composition, the abrupt ending of which is always haunting to hear.

In addition to the booklet note by the quartet itself, there is a stimulating essay on the music by the British music critic and novelist Paul Griffiths. As music listeners have come to expect from ECM, the sound quality is first-rate. The recording, which was done in Copenhagen, was engineered by veteran ECM engineer Markus Heiland and produced by Mr. ECM himself, Manfred Eicher. My hope is that ECM will release the series as a boxed set, which would be a formidable contender in the late quartet sweepstakes. But for now, Prism V is a simply wonderful way to enjoy Beethoven’s final string quartet, perfectly paired and marvelously recorded.

 

Bartók: 4 Orchestral Pieces, SZ 51 ()p. 12); Concerto for Orchestra, SZ 116. Karina Canellakis, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. Pentatone PTC 5187 827

 

Karina Canellakis (b. 1981) is an American violinist and conductor who currently serves as  Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the orchestra featured on this new release, and as Principal Guest Conductor for both the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin). She clearly has a deep affection for these two works by the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók (1881-1945), as evidenced by her detailed and impassioned recounting of the story of how he came to write what would turn out to be his most famous work, his Concerto for Orchestra: “As Beethoven wrote his joyful Second Symphony in the midst of deep despair at the loss of his hearing, so did Bartók write his brilliant, often witty, atmospheric and riveting Concerto for Orchestra in a moment of profound desperation. An outspoken anti-fascist, he and his wife had reluctantly fled Europe in 1940 after he had made his anti-nazi sentiments clear in the midst of the increasingly terrifying political situation. His lack of comfort with New York life was worsened by financial strain and illness, although it wasn’t until 1944 that leukemia was diagnosed, too late, before his death in September 1945. It was during the summer of 1943 that he lay in a hospital bed, feverish and dizzy, where the famous conductor Sergei Koussevitzsky visited to offer him $1000 to write an orchestral work for the Boston Symphony. These five masterfully orchestrated movements then seemed to pour out of him. In the mere two months it took to complete, he managed to construct something both deeply personal and wildly entertaining. He would never have imagined the success it would achieve.” (Note that $1,000 in 1943 would have been equivalent to about $17,500 in 2023 terms.) She then goes on to offer a detailed analysis of both the Concerto and its companion piece that leads off this CD, the Four Pieces for Orchestra.

 

The affection that Canellakis feels for as well as the insight she has into these two compositions is evident from the outset, with the first few measures of the opening Preludio seeming to lead us into a mysterious, unknown world. As Canellakis writes: “Bookending the majority of Bartók’s creative output, we begin this album with his Four Pieces, originally written for two pianos

in 1912 and then orchestrated in 1921. Bewilderingly unknown even to experienced listeners and musicians, these four vignettes give a brilliant and enchanting look into his earlier mentality as a composer, reveal the immense influence of Debussy, and foreshadow many of the works he would write during the following three decades.” The Scherzo movement that follows exhibits more of the energy and dynamic contrast listeners have come to expect from Bartók, with some growling brass and swirling strings. The Intermezzo movement calms the waters to some degree, but then Bartók ends things with a Marcia funebre that is far from a Beethoven or Mahler funeral march, although it does sound like it could be music played at a funeral. 

 

In contrast to the Four Pieces, The Concerto for Orchestra is one of those pieces that has been recorded over and over again. Canellakis and her Netherlands forces offer a perfectly fine performance, although I felt she had a slight tendency to linger a bit in the beginning. Still, this is a very good performance, and the sound quality is excellent, full and robust. For the person new to classical music looking to pick up a recording of the Concerto for Orchestra, this new Pentatone would be a solid choice, with its combination of a good performance, excellent sound, and unbeatable booklet. For the more experienced listener, my top two choices for the Concerto both feature the Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Boulez on DG (also paired with the Four Pieces) and the classic Reiner on RCA (usually paired with Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste). But as a further nod toward this new release, if you are interested in the Four Pieces for Orchestra, then I strongly recommend that even if you already have the Boulez, you give this new Canellakis version a listen. The two performances are different, but both are truly excellent and well worth hearing.