Customer Reviews

Anton Bruckner: String Quintet / Intermezzo / Rondo

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

L' Archibudelli are known for "period-instrument" performances of Classical and Romantic works - i.e. gut strings, relatively light tone, not much vibrato. I have listened to some of their other recordings and find that while the sonority is easy to get used to, and helps the music's texture to be audible, I don't like the mannerisms of the group and the overall interpretation so much. Perhaps it has something to do with coming from a Baroque background, but the players seem to pay too much attention to little, supposedly "expressive" details which draw attention to themselves, while distracting from the overall line of the music. This is most noticeable in the Quintet's first and third movements - at some points the leader seems to be trying to shape each note individually, rather than letting them be parts of a larger whole. In Bruckner, melodic phrases last for several bars, so any attempt to interpret them as smaller units is ultimately rather tiring for the listener who has to piece them together again. This super-sensitive approach is encouraged by the slow tempos for these movements - the temptation is to "do something" to make all the long notes more "interesting". I also didn't like how the violins played some quiet passages with virtually no tone at all - at some points you strain to hear the melody! This does draw your attention, but only as a "special effect", not really serving the music. Good string players should be able to sustain a "singing" tone while playing even very quietly, what you get here is more like a breathy whisper. Conversely, in loud passages, there is very occasionally a feeling that they are trying to get too much out of the instruments and making a harsh sound (try near the beginning of the fourth movement).

My biggest annoyance is the very audible and conspicuous sniffing that seems to have been orchestrated between several of the players, right at an emotional climax of the Quintet's slow movement. Needless to say, it does not persuade me of their emotional committment - only the sound coming from the instruments could do that. The moment is somewhat ruined by this addition of this nasal instrumentation, which is not marked in the score... You can also hear a sniffing "solo" from the 'cello about one minute into the first movement - apparently Bylsma is incapable of playing a syncopated theme without rhythmic assistance from his nostrils. We wouldn't accept musicians marking time by tapping their feet, why are string players' noses any different?

On the plus side, the rhythm and tuning are very accurate, and the recording is technically very good; probably this is the second choice to get after a more straightforward interpretation, maybe the Brandis (on Nimbus) or Alberni (on CRD) quartets. Unfortunately good recordings of the Quintet are thin on the ground.

The other pieces for quartet aren't really worth buying the disc for - they represent early Bruckner, at the time when he wasn't sure what sort of composer he wanted to be - good for musicologists to study, I suppose.

Anner Bylsma and his associates play period instruments
quite splendidly, and have an excellent feel for the great
Bruckner Quintet. They also make the "student" works
from Bruckner's Linz period (he was, in fact, in his late
thirties) sound like very good music indeed. I write this
because today's report from Amazon.com is that only
one disc remains to sell, and that for almost twice the
price when it was new (1994). Please, Sony, press up a new
batch and offer this outstanding disc at your usual price.

.
Bruckner: String Quintet (F-major, 1879):

L'Archibudelli (Sony, 1994)
I. Gemäßigt [13'49]
II. Scherzo-Trio [07'33]
III. Adagio [14'17]
IV. Finale [08'40]

Raphael Ensemble (Hyperion, 1993)
I. Gemäßigt [11'25]
II. Scherzo-Trio [07'44]
III. Adagio [14'00]
IV. Finale [08'46]

Prazák (Praga, 1996)
I. Gemäßigt [09'29]
II. Scherzo-Trio [05'55]
III. Adagio [08'45]
IV. Finale [09'40]

Vienna Phil Quintet (Decca, 1975)
I. Gemäßigt [12'09]
II. Scherzo-Trio [06'33]
III. Adagio [15'32]
IV. Finale [08'34]

Amadeus (Deutsche Grammophon, 1965)
I. Gemäßigt [13'18]
II. Scherzo-Trio [07'51]
III. Adagio [13'53]
IV. Finale [09'47]

Fine Arts (Naxos, 2007)
I. Gemäßigt [13'51]
II. Scherzo-Trio [07'32]
III. Adagio [13'13]
IV. Finale [10'06]

Leipziger (MD&G, 2004)
I. Gemäßigt [12'55]
II. Scherzo-Trio [07'53]
III. Adagio [13'53]
IV. Finale [10'10]

.