The
Pro Arte Quartet
Recorded in 1931
Originally released in 1932 as HMV DB1628-1631 (1-8) and DB1634-1636
(9-12)
Matrix Numbers: 2B2476-II, 2B2477-II, 2B2478-II, 2B2479-II, 2B2464-II,
2B2465-1, 2B2466-I, 2B2467-II,2B2468-II, 2B2469-I, 2B2474-II, 2B2475-I,
2B2472-1, 2B2473-II
(Duration
55'06")
Quartet
in C major, Op. 20 No. 2
Quartet
in C major, Op. 33 No. 3
Quartet
in G major, Op. 77 No. 1
Play
sample movement:
The
Pro Arte Quartet are to the Haydn quartets what Schnabel is to the
Beethoven piano sonatas: they seem neither to interpret them nor
to interpose themselves between the composer and the listener. They
appear simply to exist to enable the composer to make his will known
to the world...
- Bill Rosen
To
state that Haydn, more than perhaps any other composer, is responsible
for the String Quartet as we know it - and from there the many other instrumental
variations of chamber music of the Classical, Romantic and Modern periods
- seems a very bold and sweeping comment. And yet it was Haydn who freed
his quartets from the tyranny of the continuo and allowed his parts
to move freely, without relying on the 'gravity' of a bass. It was Haydn
who more or less invented Sonata form, and who developed the beautiful
part-writing, following on from his own studies into earlier vocal polyphony,
which is the essence of the string quartet medium.
Of
his many quartets - one website lists 78 works for String Quartet by or
attributed to Haydn - the Pro Arte Quartet chose 29 works to record in
their ground-breaking 8-volume Haydn Quartet Society series, made for
HMV between 1931 and 1938. These cover the full range of his output, from
Op. 1 No. 1 (1762) to the two Opus 77 quartets of 1799 (the final Op.
103 remained unfinished).
The
Pro Arte Quartet - Alphonse Onnou (Violin I), Laurent Halleux (Violin
II), Germain Prevost (Viola) and Robert Maas (Cello) - recorded many times
for HMV, and though this series is perhaps their finest achievement in
the recording studio, if only for its scope and range, they should also
be heard in their other recordings, several of which are available here
or are pencilled in for future release. Their biography in the 1939 HMV
catalogue reads as follows:
This
famous Belgian Quartet was founded in 1913, but its career was almost
immediately suspended owing to the German invasion of Belgium.
After
the War, however, the Quartet was reconstructed, the members being chosen
from students of the Brussels Conservatoire.
In
recent years the Quartet has made several world tours, appearing not only
in Europe and America, but throughout the Far East.
The
Pro Arte String Quartet is famous for its interpretations of Haydn and
the French composers such as Ravel, Debussy and Darius Milhaud. The Quartet
has made many records for "His Masters Voice" to whom it has
been exclusively contracted for many years and has undertaken a project
for recording many of the Haydn Quartets for the Haydn Quartet Society.
They have also collaborated with such great artists as Artur Schnabel
and Arthur Rubenstein in music by Schubert and Brahms.
The
Pro Arte Quartet
REVIEW
OF HAYDN: Quartet Society Vol. 1
(Pro Arte Quartet) (1931)
The
Pro Arte Quartet are to the Haydn quartets what Schnabel is
to the Beethoven piano sonatas: they seem neither to interpret
them nor to interpose themselves between the composer and
the listener. They appear simply to exist to enable the composer
to make his will known to the world. Unlike Schnabel, one
is rarely aware of technical difficulties. The quartet is
such a musical entity that one simply doesn't admire the first
violin or the cello; one is too engaged in the musical discourse.
Of course, the Pro Arte recorded fine Mozart and Beethoven
and Schubert and Brahms, but their remarkably numerous (for
the pre-World War II musical world) recording of 20-some-odd
Haydn quartets and their almost genetic affinity for Haydn
made them the preeminent specialists before the great Haydn
awakening that began in 1950. To me, like Schnabel, they have
not been surpassed.
Opus
20, No. 2. With a decent nod to Opus 9 and 17, Opus 20
is Haydn's first set of great quartets and supremely great
each of the six is. Number two is a wolf in sheep's clothing
in that each movement has irregularities. The first movement
begins with a fairly regular exposition and development and
then a recapitulation that really strays from the exposition
follows. The slow movement starts like a passacaglia, sounds
like an adagio from "Seven Last Words" and then
ends lushly with a totally different theme. This is followed
by a minuet that no one could dance to with a lovely trio
and then a finale that is a very tight-lipped fugue all the
way, but somehow manages to relax in the last 20 bars and
end as if everything was just fine all along. Wow!
Opus
33, No.3. Subtitled "The Bird". The nickname
comes from the trio of the minuet, but both the first and
last movements have rather twittering themes. The first movement
has a fairly normal exposition and development, but a highly
irregular recapitulation. The slow movement is mostly decorative
and not one of Haydn's best. The finale is presto, made from
nothing, and amusing and satisfying.
Opus
77, No. 1. One of Haydn's supreme quartets. The first
movement is a march to die for. A long movement with a repeated
exposition and a searching development and just when you think
you've heard every aspect of the march, the recapitulation
springs some surprises. The slow movement is plangent and
somber. The third movement is no minuet, but a real scherzo
in everything but name. The last movement in the Pro Arte
hands is incredibly carefree and flippant-even insolent! It
is 1799 and I can imagine Haydn thinking, "I'm still
full of cash from London; I'm more famous than my master (Duke
Esterhazy); every second rate composer publishes his works
under my name; I'm hot stuff".
I
have heard and appreciated the Pro Arte performances before-on
EMI LPs and on the Violin CD label. I have been happy to endure
the "telephone booth" acoustics to get the artistry.
In this release, the Pro Arte are now "out of the closet"
and, yes, there is some background noise, but the dragon has
been slain and the treasure beckons.
The
Pro Arte Quartet are to the Haydn quartets what Schnabel is to the
Beethoven piano sonatas: they seem neither to interpret them nor
to interpose themselves between the composer and the listener. They
appear simply to exist to enable the composer to make his will known
to the world...
- Bill Rosen
