Sergei Taneyev's Piano Quintet, op. 30 is as passionate as you could wish; it's a huge piece, lasting nearly 50 minutes. The first movement alone lasts nearly twenty. The idiom is late-Romantic, owing something to Brahms but to my mind it is much closer to César Franck, as it is as passionate a work as Franck’s piano quintet. A sombre, very chromatic opening leads to an anguished allegro. The themes are good. The piano writing is very rich, almost in concertante style, often in opposition to the strings as a group. The first movement is long and strenuous but varied in texture and with moments of relief. It builds to a tremendous climax at the beginning of the recapitulation with a pounding bass in the piano while the strings cry out over it. There is a stretto coda full of dark imaginings.

The scherzo is lighter in mood, featuring a theme of repeated notes. In contrast to the first movement the players here have to be light on their feet. The trio section is slower and features long, winding lines in the strings while the piano writing is less full, almost Mendelssohnian. We return to the opening music, if anything even faster than before.

The slow movement begins with a powerful theme in the bass which turns out to be that of a passacaglia, repeating under a melody which gradually takes shape above it, increasingly decorated. Apparently this is the first passacaglia in Russian music; it is certainly impressive.

The finale features a vivid theme in jagged rhythms and another with a soaring lyrical line. After a good deal of strenuous writing there is a very quiet passage. We return to more energetic writing before the close, with restless modulations suggesting a search for a conclusion which finally arrives with an evocation of the pealing of bells.

The coupling is a song-cycle, Taneyev’s last, which sets poems by Jakov Polonski (1819-1898) who is apparently highly regarded in Russia. These songs all deal with love, but my appreciation was hindered by the fact that they are sung in Russian, while the booklet gives them only in German, with neither the original Russian nor an English translation. While Olga Gollej does sterling work on the piano both here and in the quintet, Marina Prudenskaya, basically an operatic mezzo, indeed a Wagnerian, seems to have some difficulty fining her voice down to the scale needed for songs with piano. There is also a slight edge to her voice and a certain unsteadiness.

There are no such reservations about the performance of the Piano Quintet. The Leipzig String Quartet is a well established group who apply themselves to Taneyev’s work with enthusiasm. The recording maintains a good balance between the piano and the strings, in an acoustic suggestive of a small concert hall. There are now several other versions of this work to choose from; however, if you want the songs, this is currently the only available recording, which might sway the balance for some listeners.

– MusicWeb International (Stephen Barber)

Joachim Raff was an autodidact. Having grown up in Switzerland, he first tried his hand with moderate success in numerous places as a composer of salon pieces. Franz Liszt became aware of the young man's talents and hired him as a kind of private secretary. In Weimar Raff orchestrated some of Liszt's early symphonic poems and gained his appreciation. This first recording by the Leipzig String Quartet shows that this was no accident. Raff's first two quartets are large-format works which reveal great ambitions. By the time Raff composed his first quartet in 1855, he was already beginning to emancipate himself from Liszt and the narrow circle of his friends. The "Neudeutsche Verein" had just been founded when Raff left him for Wiesbaden, in financially uncertain circumstances but artistic independence. And indeed, Raff's music cannot be pigeonholed either in the "New German" or the "Brahmsian" category - perhaps the reason why he was admired by such diverse colleagues as Richard Strauss, Peter Tchaikovsky or even Franz Liszt. His first quartet op. 77 was premiered by the famous Hellmesberger Quartet, who had already offered the podium to Franz Schubert and the late Beethoven. The second quartet op. 90 was also quickly adopted by the Viennese. The turning away from a harmonically fixed formal scheme is a trend-setting move; chromaticism and free harmony gain the upper hand over schoolmasterly counterpoint. Self-marketing was not Raff's thing. Rather prim in his private life, he rarely performed publicly, though he was an excellent pianist. He also gave his work away rather than negotiate reasonable fees. As founding director of the Hoch'sche Conservatory in Frankfurt he nevertheless enjoyed great recognition among his contemporaries. To rekindle this in our time, the new recording of the Leipzig String Quartet is a highly welcome beginning.

After long, thoroughly satisfying years of service at the Esterhazy court, Joseph Haydn was given a well-deserved retirement in 1790 - with an unusually handsome pension. The composer, who was in great demand throughout the world, used his new freedom to travel, especially to London, and to compose string quartets again. With the first of these "Apponyi" quartets, the Leipzig String Quartet continues its Haydn series and presents another remarkable milestone in the quartet repertoire. The quartets were virtually snatched out of Haydn's hands; Count Apponyi eventually secured exclusive rights for one year at a price of 100 gulden. Although popular with dilettantes, the Op. 74 quartets go beyond the limits of what can be performed by amateurs. The first violin in particular repeatedly attracts attention with virtuoso passages, but the other voices - just listen to the finale of the C major quartet - are also demanded to do a great deal. And Haydn remains true to himself: time and again he surprises players and listeners alike with irregular periods, inserted bars, sudden pauses... And there are echoes of folk music, such as drone surfaces or - in the B-flat major quartet - major/minor changes, which evoke associations with Haydn's years-long stay in Hungary and are a pleasure to listen to. The G minor quartet is the only one of this group to bear a nickname: "Reiterquartett" Rider's refers to the lively finale, which the Leipzig musicians present with verve and delight in playing truly "con brio". But many a slow movement in this quartet trias also spoils the discerning listener: great, timeless music of which there can never be enough.

"All my strength is gone." Joseph Haydn wrote these words on the final page of his unfinished last string quartet. One can hardly believe him when one listens to this new release by the Leipzig String Quartet - and encounters a composer in full possession of his creative powers. There is nary a trace of the infirmity of old age or fading inspiration; rather, the master draws on all the rich experience of his long artistic life. "I am old and weak" - this self-quotation from his song "Der Greis" (The Old Man) seems to be pure irony.

HAYDN String Quartets: op. 20/2, 4, 6 • Leipzig Qrt • MDG 307 1706-2 (70:11)


I was greatly impressed with the Leipzig String Quartet’s complete traversals of the Schubert and the Mendelssohn quartets, but I found (in a Fanfare review not yet published at this writing) their approach to Haydn’s op. 76/2–4 not at all to my liking. My complaints centered on choices of tempo, unwelcome embellishments, and lack of “conviction.” On the current disc, as on the op. 76 disc, the order of presentation is numerically reversed (6, 4, 2 and 4, 3, 2, respectively).


In this op. 20 disc, tempos are reasonable, there are no objectionable embellishments (but there are some that I would prefer not be present), and the playing is everywhere convincing. All exposition repeats and development and recapitulation repeats are observed. A restrained vibrato is used that I find appropriate and pleasing. In a possible attempt to profit from studies of historically informed practices, occasional slight swells and attenuations are inserted, and this I find appealing. This is especially noticeable in the opening movement of No. 6. Most curious is the disregard of Haydn’s final fugal movement sempre sotto voce marking in Nos. 2 and 6. The result is a loudness that abandons the gossamer textures that are otherwise so appealing in these fugues. (S empre sotto voce appears in my Dover scores. Perhaps the Leipzig Quartet used a more recent and more authentic edition of these quartets.)


There are some very positive aspects of these performances. The second movement of the second quartet (in C), a Capriccio that begins auspiciously in C Minor and leads to a cantabile in E?-Major, is played with a sardonic C Minor and an innocent E?-Major. No. 4 in D Major is notable for its D-Minor variations of the Adagio e affettuoso second movement and for the off-beat accents in the Menuet alla Zingarese third movement. These movements profit from exceptional interpretations by the Leipzigers.


For the present disc (and the op. 76 disc), the members of the quartet are Stefan Arzberger and Tilman Büning (violins), Ivo Bauer (viola), and Matthias Moosdorf (cello). For the Schubert and Mendelssohn disc sets, the first violin was Andreas Seidel. The result of this change in leadership may be the source of my observations. Although these quartets are better served by the Auryn Quartet and by the Lindsays, there are enough unique and attractive features here for a recommendation.


FANFARE: Burton Rothleder

Classical Music

Four Experts - it was with this headline that the press welcomed Vol. 10 of the encyclopedic Haydn series by the Leipzig String Quartet. Now the ensemble from Saxony doubles our pleasure with all six quartets from Opus 17 on the two CDs of this attractive box expanding our Haydn quartet horizons to include his earlier works. The result is uncommonly rewarding inasmuch as light is shed on a highly interesting developmental advance from divertimento mirth to mature chamber music and straight into the formative years of a revolutionarily new musical genre. For it was first through Joseph Haydn that the string quartet was crowned the king of chamber disciplines. Four instruments performing as equal partners but in different registers mean that the music has to focus on the essentials; no instrumental tricks might help it over possible compositional longueurs. But Haydn's music of course does not at all need such assistance. The ten years of experience that Haydn had gathered in this genre are heard in his Opus 17. The form is clearly more concentrated; instead of creating an entertaining medley of catchy melodies, he limits himself to a few themes from which he develops a movement or an entire quartet. The extraordinary skill of the instrumentalists available to him in Esterhaza inspired him to craft the sparkling passages that repeatedly flash across his scores. The absolutely great moments in this collection also include many a slow movement - for example, the Adagio from No. 3, which takes the listener into harmonically remote fields. In the careful hands of the four top musicians from Leipzig these rarely heard quartets develop a fascinating appeal that could not be more charming.

HAYDN String Quartets, op. 64/3–5 • Leipzig Str Qrt • MDG GOLD 3071723 (66:51)


Here is a disc, labeled as Vol. 5 of the Haydn quartets, that promises very great things for the rest of the series. The Leipzig Quartet’s playing has the same light, bright, and occasionally humorous sweep that one also hears in the recordings of the Daedalus Quartet (the op. 20 quartets as issued on Bridge 9326) and, if anything, MDG’s sound is even more clearly detailed. There’s not a single movement on this disc that disappoints; the quartet members, who appear to be in their mid-40s, have retained a youthful, zestful energy and enthusiasm for music-making that warms the heart as it makes you smile.


Moreover, their musical style includes many subtle moments of rubato and an extraordinarily wide variety of dynamics. For a good example of their rubato style, sample the Menuetto of the op. 64 No. 3 quartet, where the subtle tempo shifts—combined with the composer’s own written luftpausen —tease the ear in a wonderful way. Sometimes their subtlety in dynamics may escape the inattentive listener, so alertness in hearing this CD is strongly recommended. This is not fluff playing, but rather the kind of performance that brings you deeper into the heart of the music. Based on this single disc, I would go so far as to recommend hearing virtually any of their Haydn quartet releases to date, which so far includes some op. 50 quartets (1, 4, and 5) on MDG 3071585 (which got a rave review in these pages from Burton Rothleder), op. 76 Nos. 2–4 on MDG 3071683 (a rave review on Music Web International ), the op. 20 quartets Nos. 2, 4, and 6 on MDG 3071706 (another good review from Rothleder), but oddly enough I can’t find Vol. 1 of this series on either ArkivMusic or Amazon! (Maybe it hasn’t come out yet.)


In short, this is good stuff. If you don’t have these quartets in your collection, in performances you enjoy, go for it!


FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley

Classical Music

There is never a shortage of surprises with Joseph Haydn. The Leipzig String Quartet's latest instalment, Opus 2, of their benchmark complete recording of all Haydn's string quartets offers unexpected, unusual and always entertaining moments, presented with virtuosity and mastery by a quartet that combines curiosity and experience to create a delightful whole.

Haydn's originality, wit and esprit are once again as impressive as the striking inventiveness and versatility of this highly acclaimed ensemble. If his opus one marks the birth of the genre, then opus 33 marks the rebirth, containing some of his most inspired and innovative music. Haydn skilfully plays with the listener's expectations by offering lots of surprising twists and the Leipzig String Quartet reveal and revel in the delights of Haydn's musical wit and invention.

The LSQ celebrates Haydn's ideas with wit and charm as well as brilliance in the expansive solo passages which revive the hype of 1790s Vienna and London. This is Haydn at the height of his creative powers and a quartet to the highest performance standards. The natural, unobtrusive recording technique elevates these Classical masterpieces to their rightful pedestal.

To mark the 200th anniversary of the composer's birth, the renowned Leipzig String Quartet presents a world premiere recording of the 5th String Quartet from Joachim Raff's much under-appreciated chamber music. In addition, the four musicians present the quartet op. 192, no. 2 with the epithet "Schöne Müllerin" - and whoever immediately thinks of Schubert is not wrong, but still on the wrong track. For unlike Schubert's, there seems to be no tragic ending in Raff's wanderer's fate, but a better one. Here, too, the young man falls in love with the miller's daughter, here, too, there is - as the title of the 4th movement reveals - "unrest", but after an "explanation" the work ends in the snappy "Polterabend" (wedding-eve party). Why Raff did not then also compose a wedding remains his secret...

While the "Schöne Müllerin" is laid out like a suite, the 5th string quartet follows the classical form. Raff had already broken away from Liszt's influence, and so the work is characterized by the extremely skillful treatment of the often catchy motifs. The fast second movement is remarkable, its familiar variations breathing Mendelssohnian esprit. Again and again, the Viennese three-fourths blossoms. Is this a reverence to Joseph Hellmesberger, the primarius of many Raff premieres? In any case, the Leipzig String Quartet's joy in this life-affirming music is clearly audible!

Joseph Haydn must have been curious: Away from the extensive obligations for music at the court of Prince Esterhazy, he found in the string quartet the ideal field for experiments. The quartets from op. 9 contain ideas that would only find expression in symphonies and sonatas much later. The Leipzig String Quartet are starting with Quartets 1 to 3, that sound as fresh and new as if they had just come from the pen. After all, ten years of compositional experience lie between Haydn's first attempts in the genre and the six quartets op. 9. The pieces repeatedly demand ludicrously virtuosic passages from the first violin, and some movements with their bravura cadenzas are even reminiscent of a violin concerto. However, the far advanced balance of the voices is surprising. Far from being simply accompaniment, there are also many demanding details in the lower voices. The slow movements, which always come third in the op. 9 quartets, are grandiose and at the same time touching. Wide melodic arches give the primarius opulent opportunity to indulge and to "speak" in conversation, in order to finally create space for a final movement that is as lively as it is capricious. This is not least due to Italian influence, but Carl Philip Emanuel Bach also leaves his mark alongside Sammartini; the themes seem to be thrown down, gain immense lightness, and the works become increasingly individual. It is not known what Haydn's employer thought of the innovations; with the historically informed Leipzig String Quartet, he must certainly have taken a particular liking to them.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music