Bart—k Beethoven, Schubert & Haydn

COMPOSERS: Bartók Beethoven,Schubert & Haydn
LABELS: Decca (for both)
ALBUM TITLE: Bartók, Takács Quartet
WORKS: String Quartet No. 2; String Quartet No. 3; String Quartet No. 6
PERFORMER: Takács Quartet (for both)
CATALOGUE NO: 074 3141; 074 3140

PRESENTATION: *****







These two sublime DVDs give us the



privilege of watching and hearing,



or it seems more like overhearing,



four great collaborating musicians



recreating six of the most magnificent



immediacy one moment, deep



intimacy the next, staring mirrorclose



into Barstow’s deeply expressive



features, or echoing a frequent stage



image showing Elizabeth caged by



her role, as when her dressing-room



walls turn translucent to betray the



court ladies gossiping.



The fine ensemble cast survives



such potentially cruel exposure



through sheer involvement, notably



Tom Randle, an ideally virile



Essex. Also outstanding are



Susanna Glanville’s Lady Rich, Eric



Roberts’ Cecil and Clive Bayley’s



sprightly Raleigh. Daniel conducts



a vividly theatrical performance



that banishes any hint of fustian or



pastiche pageantry about this score.



PERFORMANCE ?????



PRESENTATION ?????



? BBC Music Direct £17.99 inc. p&p



works written for string quartet. The



performances, not given before an



audience, were filmed in 1998 in two



beautiful Scottish country houses.



The players talk separately about each



work before they play it, in a relaxed



and mainly informative way, showing



how intense their collaboration is.



Two of the four players are British,



the other two Hungarians from the



original Takács Quartet. Their degree



of integration is quite remarkable,



as is the old-fashioned warmth and



freedom of their playing. I find it



hard to imagine a finer account of



any of the ‘classical’ works on the



Takács Quartet DVD, though it could



be argued that their approach is one



of almost uniform intensity. That



quality is certainly what is needed



in Beethoven’s First Razumovsky



Quartet, and in Schubert’s Death and



the Maiden, but it’s not so clear that



Haydn’s The Bird requires this degree



of fervour. But they do bring out,



without making a meal of it, Haydn’s



startling features, such as the wholly



weird second movement.



I doubt if the Takács have ever had



any superiors in interpreting Bartók’s



quartets, and it’s to be hoped that



another DVD completes the series.



They play the programmed works in



the order 3, 2 and 6, presumably with



good reason though I couldn’t think



what it was; difficult as I find these



works, it is to this DVD that I shall



return for deepened understanding.



By watching, one sees which phrases



answer which, which break up a



conversation, how the players feel



about what they are performing.



With wonderful photography and



an extremely clear image, these are



among the most rewarding DVDs I



have ever seen, and among my highest



musical experiences. Michael Tanner