Customer Reviews

Schumann: String Quartets 1 & 3

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

While this recording is undoubtedly one of the most hyped quartet releases in recent years, and while the Gramophone Award alone is insufficient to justify any music purchase, I fail to understand what the editor found so offensive about this lovely recording. I've never been a Schumann fan, and only recently began to understand the critical role his music played in the compositions of Debussy and other Impressionists and neo-Romantics. I've heard these works performed before, and neither past performance was memorable. I purchased the Zehetmair Quartet recording sheerly on the say-so of Gramophone, and in this case, Gramophone was right as rain. I have rarely heard a small ensemble so totally prepared, both technically and emotionally, for a performance. The players are highly responsive to one another (you can actually feel the heat at times) and their tightness only confirms their devotion to this music. Certainly, there are moments at which passions bubble a bit too high and the sonics become a little strident, but after one hearing, I long to return to this recording to discover even more about the composer's intent. I should add that the adagios are lovely, lyrical and very moving, so much so that I found it impossible not to pay attention to the performance. The negatives? Chintzy performance time at about 47:00, and an accoustic that is sometimes too reverberant for the character of the music. A drier sound might have been more effective. I also noticed a few moments of rolloff distortion, but they were so subtle, my ears might have been at fault. In summary, then, this is a wonderful quartet recording by a prodigiously gifted ensemble addressing music which is recorded only occasionally. The packaging, notes and general presentation enhance the listening experience. I would not award it the Record of the Year, as Gramophone did, although I would award it Best Chamber Recording. Five stars.

The amazon official review is totally off the mark. Here's what Gramophone said in rating it the best classical record of 2003:

Schumann's string quartets, dedicated to Felix Mendelssohn, slip quietly in and out of the record catalogue with unremarkable regularity. This, however, is a disc that needs to be greeted with loud trumpetings because it houses playing of a passion and intensity that is very rarely encountered on disc. The Zehetmair Quartet are not a full-time quartet - their first violin, Thomas Zehetmair, has to juggle with a high-profile solo career as well as being conductor of the Northern Sinfonia - but they come together for periods of intensive study, rehearsal, concert-giving and recording. They are also one of very few quartets who don't use scores when they perform - and I think you can tell within a few bars that something special is going on. Rob Cowan wrote of these performances that they are `quite simply, the best: agile, excitable, nervously intense and in the slower music probing to an almost painful degree. Theirs is a dialogue that brings Schumann's spirit to life, which is pretty rare in an age that so often seems unresponsive to Romantic sensibilities'. One of the panelists rang me after listening to all 15 of the Best of Category discs and said that, unequivocally, there was only one Record of the Year. It is a belief you, too, will share from the very first note. It is stunning.

Amazon's review is true. If you're looking for seamless, homogeneous and aristocratic playing, go elsewhere. To paraphrase Jim Svejda, they sound like they're just making it up as they go along! These are all excellent musicians. This music was once new and exciting, and these performances make it sound like that again. This CD wouldn't ideally be the only one I'd own of these works, but I wouldn't part with it either. It's alive, It's alive!

The playing here is virtuoso, spontaneous, well thought out and sensitively rendered. Clearly etched and...the tuning is almost perfect! Lots of attack from the violins in the fast movements. Sometimes the viola and cello sound a bit reticent in comparison. True, the four do not always seem to be communicating seamlessly. At times, it sounds a bit like a violin duet, with Viola and Cello accompaniment. But that may also reflect the composition. The dynamics are very sensitive, in contrast with quite a few Romantic chamber recordings where they seem exaggerated.

There's a very good essay included (though it's a difficult read, having been translated from German) on Schumann's emphasis on repeated motifs, especially rhythmic "aphorisms", in framing his pieces, in contrast to Beethoven's perfection of theme and variation.

But what makes this disc a winner is the sound. Very clear and open with a good 3d image.

I think that the Amazon editor is "smokin' crack," as my friend would say. "The personalities have not merged, the tone lacks homogeneity, the balance is poor, the texture muddy, important details are lost" she writes.

The sound of the Zehetmair Quartet on this CD couldn't be more cohesive and organic. It sounds as if they are creating the music themselves, not something that they've had to practice and memorize.

The music is riveting, vibrant, and energetic...how a good string quartet should sound.

Now let me sound off against the label, ECM. If they keep putting 2/3 or 3/4 full CDs out and charging above what other labels charge for 70+ minutes of music, they're only advocating piracy in my opinion. Look at what they're charging for Part CDs.

Hillary Finch wrote in BBC Music: "The Zehetmair Quartet above all perfectly fuses Schumann's Classical rigor with a fitful, impulsive animation of dynamics and meter - nowhere more so than in the second movement of the Third Quartet. This sense of emotional instability articulated with superb technical assurance goes to the very heart of the composer, and is recreated here with outstanding mastery." (Editor's choice)

It would be hard to praise the Zehetmair Quartet's performance of Schumann too highly. This is life-and-death music from a man who struggled with the boundaries of fundamental human issues -- and it is played as such. Goodbye, Beidermeir. Hello, passionate mindfulness. Eighty years ago the young Budapest Quartet changed the way music lovers expected a string quartet to sound. Brilliant technique wedded to exceptional musical insight make the Zehetmair's performance here similarly transformational.

Thomas Zehetmair, an acclaimed Austrian violinist, set out to explore the string quartet literature.
A New York Times article described his plight:

"Self-interest drives his choices, Mr. Zehetmair said recently. ''My motive for having a string quartet was very egoistic. I think it's the greatest literature.''
Mr. Zehetmair began thinking seriously about forming a string quartet in 1994; three years later, the group he had handpicked was performing throughout Europe.

Using the leader's name for a quartet may smack of yesterday's fashion, but Mr. Zehetmair says that it has helped the group gain attention. ''I have a certain reputation as a soloist,'' he said."

I had heard Zehetmair play and was impressed with the combination of his lyricism with intellectual rigor. Curious about his quartet, I went to hear the quartet play at the University of Chicago's Mandel hall. The space was a bit too large to hear them enough to make an impression. The quartet did not try to play to fill the hall with sound. Undeterred, I bought a copy of the well reviewed CD of the quartet playing 2 Schumann quartets. I've played these pieces before, and heard them countless times. My favorite recording of them was the Guarneri quartet on RCA from 30 years ago. What I heard from the disc was eye opening. Tempos, sound, textures, were re-imagined. I felt like I was hearing the first 21st century interpretation of these 18th century works. I downloaded the Zehetmair quartet's recording of Bartok's 5th quartet. Once again, from the opening, they re-imagined the the tempo and phrasing, and the quartet gave me a fresher and deeper meaning to Bartok's notes. The phrases were interpreted with a larger arc, riveting my attention. If you read the NYT article I linked to above, Zehetmair's group only plays 1 or 2 programs a year. The preparation for this repertoire is unusual: Each player memorizes the music before they get together to rehearse. The interactions between voices take on a new level of expression because they are attempting to transcend their own parts. The discussion of interpretation becomes focused on the whole. You have to hear the results.

Well... This is the most you can get by Schumann...I am not an expert! Maybe you know more than me.

Although the CD status is perfect and there is no scratch or break on it, It gives a lound rattle and undesirable noise on all the tracks. Most likely it is a recording problem. Actually i'm so disappointed regarding the quality inspection procedure Amazon is adopting. I want this CD badly but what i've found make me reconsider my future orders from Amazon. I tried to ask for replacement but i've been shocked when i found my self compelled to return the original CD to amazon at my expense.