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The
Busch Quartet, considered the Schnabel of string quartets,
was famed for the depth of its understanding of German classical
style, but considered a bit underpowered as a virtuoso ensemble.
This recording gives the lie to any belief in its lack of
virtuosity. It is true that it does not begin the quartet,
as the Amadeus or Emerson do, like a space rocket being launched.
The whole first movement has a degree of sadness and inwardness
mixed with its unmistakeable strength and vigor. The contrasts
are there, but they are a bit subdued. In the second movement,
the slow movement, the Busch foursome triumphs by integrating
the violin figurations, which can often sound like mere decoration,
with the melody in the viola and cello. This idiosyncratic
but very Schubertian method of development, which can provide
a ho-hum musical impression in some hands, sounds fraught
with meaning in the Busch's hands.
The
pace picks up in the scherzo, which is very exciting. It is
here where questions of technique are put to rest. The finale,
another one of Schubert's moto perpetuos, sometimes anti-climactic
in other performances, is the true center of gravity of this
performance- very fast, very brilliant - perhaps the "dance
of death", and gives a real feeling of catharsis at the
end.
The
reproduction is very good, but not great. It is infinitely
superior to my old VOX LP and to the EMI Reference, but the
dimness of the source material sets limits on what can be
achieved sonically. But there are no limits on what can be
gained musically from this recording.
[NB. The comments on sound quality refer to the original Pristine Audio issue, prior to the Pristine Audio Natural Sound remastering of January 2007 as heard in our online sample]
Reviewer:
Bill Rosen |
