This album is included in the following sets:
This set contains the following albums:
- Producer's Note
- Full Track Listing
- Cover Art
These recordings are excellent examples of how well the
better record companies adapted to and adopted the new technologies of
the 1950s. Although the true advent of stereo was still to come, the
rapid development of high quality tape and vinyl recording and
reproduction helped to drive other advances in high fidelity recording
equipment and techniques, with the net result being clear for anyone to
hear.
The tendency was still to a certain dryness in studio
recordings, especially in the field of chamber music - quite possibly a
result of years of similar practise and expectations dating back to the
age of acoustic recordings, which simply couldn't capture any easily
audible room acoustics. Thus throughout the 78rpm age and into the early
years of vinyl we still find quite dry and - to modern ears - slightly
brittle or sterile recordings.
The judicious use of a modern convolution reverberation,
reproducing exactly the acoustics of specific concert halls and venues,
can greatly help in the enjoyment and appreciation of recordings such
as this - the idea is not to swamp the instruments in echo, but rather
to allow the string to resound more fully and in a more realistically
rounded style as one would expect in a live performance environment.
This approach has worked particularly well here - take a
listen to our Boccherini sample to hear what I mean. Despite the lack
of precise stereo positioning (it remains, of course, a mono recording),
the sound is full, clear and simultaneously contemporary and yet 55
years old. Ultimately it achieves - I trust - the goal of any
restoration, which is to bring the listener closer to the music and
performance, removing as much as possible in the way of sonic obstacles
to enjoyment.
But that's all the boring technical stuff. What you need to know is that this is a truly superb
quartet, playing at their height just before going their separate ways,
and is absolutely not to be missed. Close to two full hours of
uninterrupted musical pleasure awaits you!
Andrew Rose
NEW MUSIC QUARTET Mendelssohn and Boccherini (1954/5)
MENDELSSOHN Quartet No 2 in A minor, Op. 13
1. I. Adagio; Allegro vivace (8:00)
2. II. Adagio non lento (7:49)
3. III. Intermezzo (Allegretto con moto; Allegro di molto) (4:21)
4. IV. Presto; Adagio (8:49)
Recorded 7th January, 1954
MENDELSSOHN Quartet No 5 in E flat, Op. 44, No. 3
5. I. Allegro vivace (9:51)
6. II. Scherzo (Assai leggiero vivace) (4:32)
7. III. Adagio non troppo (9:04)
8. IV. Molto allegro con fuoco (9:07)
Recorded 27th May 1954
Issued as Columbia Masterworks ML 4921
BOCCHERINI Quartet in B minor, Op.58, No.4, G.245
9. I. Allegro molto (4:20)
10. II. Andantino lento (5:14)
11. III. Rondo (Allegro ma non presto) (4:54)
Recorded 11th May 1955
BOCCHERINI Quartet in B-flat, Op.2, No.2, G.160
12. I. Allegro non tanto (3:55)
13. II. Largo (4:19)
14. III. Fuga (con spirito) (2:52)
Recorded 11th May 1955
BOCCHERINI Quartet in E-flat, Op.53, No.1, G.236
15. I. Allegro (5:04)
16. II. Tempo di minuetto (5:18)
Recorded 19th May, 1955
BOCCHERINI Quartet in E-flat, Op.58, No.2, G.243
17. I. Allegretto lento (4:40)
18. II. Menuetto (Allegro) (3:03)
19. III. Larghetto (4:08)
20. IV. Finale (Allegro vivo assai) (3:52)
Recorded 19th May, 1955
Columbia 30th Street Studios, New York
Issued as Columbia Masterworks ML 5047
The New Music Quartet:
Broadus Erle, violin
Mathew Raimondi, violin
Walter Trampler,, viola
Claus Adam, cello (Mendelssohn)
David Soyer, cello (Boccherini)
