Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 / Smetana: String Quartet No. 1 - From My Life

Alexander Borodin (Composer), Bedrich Smetana (Composer), Cleveland Quartet (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Cleveland Quartet
• Composer: Alexander Borodin, Bedrich Smetana
• Audio CD (July 23, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Telarc
• ASIN: B000003CV4
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #165,967 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Allegro Moderato

2. II. Scherzo

3. III. Notturno

4. IV. Finale

5. I. Allegro Vivo Appassionato

6. II. Allegro Moderato A La Polka

7. III. Largo Sostenuto

8. IV. Vivace

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Romantic String Quartet of Two Great Composers, July 6, 2001

By 

rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 / Smetana: String Quartet No. 1 - From My Life (Audio CD)

This is 57 minutes of beautiful, flowing string music composed by one Russian and the other Czech.

Wanting more of Borodin after long love affair with his Nocturne, I searched for a quality recording of the Quartet in No. 2. This Cleveland Quartet recording is clear and played on a matched set of Stradivarius instruments once belonging to Paganini.

Borodin is remarkable individual, who worked productively in both fields of chemistry and music. This quartet no. 2 was dedicated to his wife in honor of their 20th anniversary. No wonder many of us find this music no hauntingly romantic.

Smetana has long been of interest to me, now I enjoy this quartet as well. He supposedly composed this as his personal response to life's tragedy for him, which declined to deafness and insanity. It was a programmatic movement, from the opening youthful mood to the second (a polka) of youthful dancing, to the largo of first love, to the haunting Finale, a lengthy holding high pitched note, which reminded him of the oncoming deafness. Interesting that in first private performance, Dvorak performed the viola part.

Will get much play from me. Delightful stuff!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and Romantic Mush, March 6, 2001

By 

"eido" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 / Smetana: String Quartet No. 1 - From My Life (Audio CD)

For anyone seeking the very romantic string quartet music, this is the perfect CD-- romantic almost to the brink of schmaltz, yet irresistibly lyrical. The Borodin is a fluffy soufflé, rich and sugary. You may know the Nocturne as "And This is My Beloved" from Kismet. Certainly, it may be over-the-top romanticism, and my better half says, "resist!" yet I find myself indulging it in again and again.

Smetana's quartet is one of the few programmatic sting quartets. In it, he musically depicts various events from his life-- his romantic moods, his love of dancing (embodied in the polka of the second movement), his first love, and, in the finale, the deafness which began to appear when he was 50 years old.

The Cleveland quartet's performance of these works is splendid-- nice and clean, and they don't overdo the schmaltz. The only better way to experience this music is to hear it played live in a dimly lit cafe while sipping an espresso and nibbling a croissant.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Delights., March 27, 2002

By 

D. Seymour "snadmus" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 / Smetana: String Quartet No. 1 - From My Life (Audio CD)

The Borodin begins the program with an awkwardly cascading melody that eventually weaves its way among all the parts swelling like a creek until it reaches a serenly quiet pool. Robert Wright and George Forrest manipulated the Scherzo and Notturno into "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" & "And This Is My Beloved" for their 1953 musical Kismet. Borodin's gifted melodies are just as stellar in their original form. The romantic and lilting Scherzo is like a champagne toast. The yearning Notturno develops a perfectly balanced echo before the emphatic finale. Smetana's quartet is by far more polished than the Borodin in both arrangement and technical prowess. The plaintive opening leads into the "serious" second movement polka. The weighty Largo finally concedes to the unison joys of the Vivace finale. The two quartets complement each other marvelously. Don't let the dreary cover illustration fool you, these romantic quartets would be comfortable at any black-tie gathering.