Label Praga

Two arrangements: one, undertaken by Gustav Mahler and revealed in 1984, of the most famous of Schubert’s 15 quartets, Death and the Maiden, of which he completed only the second movement Andante, which he in fact conducted in concert. Nowadays, such an expansion charms like the transfer of Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht or Berg’s Lyric Suite to orchestra. The other, attempted many times, finally achieves a soloist-orchestra balance that preserves the Arpeggione‘s divertissement nature. Gaspar Cassadó proposed a version for large symphony orchestra that is somewhat overwhelming in relation to the simplicity of the original text. The present version for cello and strings, of which this is the first recording, offers a viewpoint both concertante and da camera that shows the purity, fraternal élan and timeless character of the cello’s melody to best advantage.

Two arrangements: one, undertaken by Gustav Mahler and revealed in 1984, of the most famous of Schubert's 15 quartets, 'Death and the Maiden', of which he completed only the second movement Andante, which he in fact conducted in concert. Nowadays, such an expansion charms like the transfer of Schonberg's "Verkldrte Nacht" or Berg's "Lyric Suite to orchestra"; the other, attempted many times, finally achieves a soloist-orchestra balance that preserves the Arpeggione's divertissement nature. Gaspar Cassado proposed a version for large symphony orchestra that is somewhat overwhelming in relation to the simplicity of the original text. The present version for cello and strings, of which this is the first recording, offers a viewpoint both concertante and da camera that shows the purity, fraternal elan and timeless character of the cello's melody to best advantage.

The Kocian Quartet has earned the reputation as one of the foremost Czech string quartets of its time. Its repertory is broad, encompassing standards by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, as well as mainstream Czech works by Dvorák, Smetana, Janácek, and Martinu, and little-known fare by Pavel Haas and Hans Krása. But it has also introduced many new works by an array of contemporary Czech composers, including Tichy, Loudova, Kaslik, Kubicka, Riedelbauch, and conductor/composer Rafael Kubelik. The Kocian Quartet has made numerous recordings for several labels, among them Praga and Orfeo.

The Prazak Quartet is not only one of the leading string quartets from Czechoslovakia, but among the longest-lived from any country. Although most of the original membership is gone, all the current personnel has been in place since 1986, and two of the three replacements have served since the early or mid-'70s. Not surprisingly, the ensemble has shown a preference for Czech repertory, focusing particularly on Dvorák, Smetana, Janácek, and Martinu. But the group has also demonstrated an affinity for the string quartets of Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, and other composers in the Germanic sphere. The repertory extends to the twentieth century as well, encompassing Zemlinski, Schoenberg, Berg, Schulhoff, and many others. The ensemble has made numerous recordings for a variety of labels, pirmarily on Praga, but including Harmonia Mundi, Supraphon, Orfeo, and Nuovo Era. The Prazak Quartet was founded in 1972 by cellist Josef Prazák and violist Josef Kluson, the only current original member. All of the original members were Prague Conservatory students. The makeup of the group changed often in its early years: Vaclav Remes (first violinist) joined the ensemble in 1973; Vlastimil Holek (second violinist) became the next replacement, in 1976; and then in 1986 cellist Michal Kanka replaced Prazák.

Though heralded as a national hero in his native Hungary, the music of Ernö Dohnányi is often and mysteriously neglected. Dohnányi was not only an accomplished and well-respected composer, he was a brilliant pianist, a much-sought conductor, and a champion of the next generation of Hungarian composers including Bartók and Kodály.

While one might wish that cellist Michal Kanka had a more robust tone, one could not wish for a more sensitive tone. While one might wish that pianist Ivan Klansky had a more distinct touch, one could not wish for a more sympathetic accompanist. And while one might wish that their performances of both Brahms' cello sonatas, plus a transcription of his Sonatensatz in C minor, were more recklessly virtuosic, one could not wish for warmer, more lyrical, more soulful performances. It could be that Kanka and Klansky's don't have the chops for Brahms' vigorous writing, but it seems more likely that they're simply going with their hearts. Listen to their Sonatensatz: their central section flows like the milk of human kindness, but their outer sections are desultory, enervated, and weak. While their performances are so sincere that one cannot help but be moved by them, they are still so listless that one grows ever so slightly bored with them. Praga's super audio digital sound is cloudy and damp.

Inventing and developing the genre of the string quartet, Joseph Haydn carried out the most original study of it, as evidenced by the opus. 33. The latter then appears as a real deepening of this universe in the making, because, as Bernard Fournier rightly notes, “at the same time that he was firmly establishing – but perhaps without fully realizing it – the genre of the quartet, Haydn was reflecting in Opus 20 about the means and possibilities of expressing musical thought, turned to seriousness and concentration, Opus 33, on the contrary, is liveliness and effervescence, which become the main aesthetic issue, even if, as in Opus 20, the discourse is far from being concentrated in one direction, but continues translate the nuances and diversity of thought. In an interpretive concept of absolute refinement, the Parcagni quartet offers us here the quartet Nos. 2, 3 and 5 of Opus 33. The flexibility of phrases, the purity of the melodic line, the warm colors, the lightness of the attacks bring their essential benefit.