www.jansmusic.co.uk - for musical independence

Click here to review the contents of your basket or check out

JANSMUSIC RECOMMENDED RECORDING

Beethoven String Quartets Op.59 Nos. 2 & 3 " Rasumovsky"
The Lindsays
ASV CD DCA 554

The reason for my “string quartet of the month” feature is that it’s my favourite type of music: my favourite composer of string quartets has to be Beethoven.  For me, he is the master of the form, although I’m sure others will disagree.  For me, they also serve to show me more about the composer himself than any of his other works. 

Beethoven had 3 quartet-writing periods in his life – the early period, from which comes the Opus 18 quartets, the middle period, from which date the so-called “Rasumovsky” Opus 59s and the later period, from which comes the Op.131.  By far my favourites are the Rasumovskys, 3 quartets written for the Russian Count Rasumovsky in 1805, which include so-called Russian themes.  I like this recording because the Lindsays because their playing is concise and light but they are not afraid to push when needed.  They also portray the absolute love for the genre that Beethoven demonstrates in these quartets in particular. 

These pieces take us through the whole gamut of moods, one minute serious and intense, the next minute playful, the next minute lyrical.  No.2 begins very seriously, with an energetic and emotionally charged first movement, moving into a lyrical and beautifully paced slow movement: the cello part is brought out wonderfully on this recording, without overshadowing the broad, flowing theme.  The scherzo brings out the quirky Beethoven, syncopated and angular, and the final movement is a fast-moving rondo, with lyrical episodes: this recording brings out the humour in the melodic lines of this movement and keeps the pace while refusing to feel rushed.

No.3 has a lighter first movement, which leads into the most wonderful slow movement: a thoughtful, lilting, slightly dark melody, over a resonant pizzicato cello. The third movement is graceful and quite traditional in style, with some chromatic movement, and some lovely blending of the inner harmonies; this leads us into the frantic finale, which the Lindsays are not afraid to throw themselves into energetically, bouncing through the quite virtuoso quasi-fugal entries, again keeping the inimitable momentum going and maintaining a level of excitement throughout.