Stenhammar - String Quartets Vol.1
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Label: BIS
Cat No: BIS1659
Format: Hybrid SACD
Number of Discs: 1
Genre: Chamber
Release Date: 29th July 2013
Contents
Works
Lodolezzi Sings: Suite, op.39String Quartet no.4 in A minor, op.25
Artists
Stenhammar QuartetWorks
Lodolezzi Sings: Suite, op.39String Quartet no.4 in A minor, op.25
Artists
Stenhammar QuartetAbout
If there is one Swedish composer in the early 20th century who in some way can compare with Sibelius and Nielsen, it is Wilhelm Stenhammar.
The seven quartets (of which one, in F minor, was withdrawn by the composer soon after its first performance) were written over the space of 22 years, and mirror Stenhammar’s development, from full-blown Romanticism to a more sparse and formally concentrated idiom.
This is the Stenhammar Quartet’s debut recording for BIS, but they present the first disc in a trilogy which will include the six quartets published during the composer’s lifetime, as well as the F minor quartet – for the first time on disc.
Sound/Video
Paused
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1String Quartet no.4 in A minor, op.25 - I.Allegro ma non troppo
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2String Quartet no.4 in A minor, op.25 - II.Adagio
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3String Quartet no.4 in A minor, op.25 - IV.Aria variata
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4String Quartet no.4 in A minor, op.25 - III.Scherzo - Allegro
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5Lodolezzi sjunger, op.39 - Elegi - Lento
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6Lodolezzi sjunger, op.39 - Intermezzo - Allegro agitato
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7String Quartet no.3 in F major, op.18 - I.Quasi andante
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8String Quartet no.3 in F major, op.18 - II.Presto molto agitato
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9String Quartet no.3 in F major, op.18 - III.Lento sostenuto
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10String Quartet no.3 in F major, op.18 - IV.Presto molto agitato
Europadisc Review
The project gets off to an excellent start with this disc of the middle two quartets, both of them reflecting a thorough absorption of Classical motivic technique combined with a distinctively individual expressive style. Indeed, the Fourth Quartet (1904–09) which opens the disc is perhaps the finest of the six, and it receives a loving and carefully thought-through performance which is constantly engaging. From the contrasting themes of the first movement’s opening, the Stenhammar Quartet are alive to all the nuances of the score, with a wide but never exaggerated dynamic range. The references to Beethoven’s late quartets are clear, but so too are Stenhammar’s own unmistakable harmonic style and plangent lyricism, nicely enhanced by a subtle and tasteful deployment of rubato. The Adagio second movement is dreamily wistful, the main theme underlain at one point with a Sibelian pizzicato accompaniment; it is a movement of supreme beauty, and a marvellous entry point to Stenhammar’s soundworld. In the bristling Scherzo, the score's quiet dynamics are observed to thrilling effect, making the rare forte outbursts even more effective. The Andante finale is a set of variations on a Swedish folksong, and here the leader, Peter Olofsson, adds a lovely touch by playing the solo version of the theme without vibrato in a manner akin to folk playing. It’s the sort of imaginative attention to detail that marks these recordings as a whole. A final reminiscence of the work’s very opening brings this marvellous quartet to a moving conclusion.
The performance of the Third Quartet (1897–1900) is just as winning, the first movement wonderfully diaphanous and melodically soulful. The highly inventive Scherzo bursts with energy, while in the Lento third movement an almost Slavic passion is combined with a keen awareness of the reference to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in the closing pages. The finale opens with a turbulent reminiscence of the Scherzo’s main theme but, as in the Fourth Quartet, the musical realisation and development is unmistakably individual.
A welcome bonus comes in the form of two movements from Stenhammar’s incidental music Lodolezzi Sings, a play by Hjalmar Bergman cast as a romantic comedy about a retired opera singer. The Elegy served as an overture, while the Intermezzo recalls the structure of an operatic scena, complete with witty references to a recitative and aria. Composed in 1919, some three years after Stenhammar’s last quartet, this music is a fascinating sample of his later style.
Cultivated playing throughout and a wonderfully clear and vivid recording made in St Peter’s, Stocksund (a northern suburb of Stockholm) combine to make this a highly auspicious release from BIS. We look forward to future instalments in this cycle.
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