Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 2 in F; String Quartet No. 3 in E flat minor

COMPOSERS: Tchaikovsky
LABELS: Brodsky
ALBUM TITLE: Brodsky Quartet
WORKS: String Quartet No. 2 in F; String Quartet No. 3 in E flat minor
PERFORMER: Brodsky Quartet
CATALOGUE NO: BRD 3500

According to Jacqueline Thomas’s



personable notes for this issue,



Tchaikovsky wept at the original



Brodsky Quartet’s impromptu



performance of his Third Quartet.



Would he have done the same for its



namesake’s own-label championship



of what remains far from mainstream



repertoire? Possibly not, though he



would no doubt have been moved by



their commitment and impressed by



how modern much in his second and



third quartets sounds today. Most



impressive is the Brodsky’s sense of



long-term adventure. You can hardly



fail to be gripped by the way the



frenetic, very orchestral climax of the



F major Quartet’s opening movement



– quadruple stopping from the violins



– yields by careful degrees to a calmer,



Classicising influence. Surprising,



too, is the way that Andrew Haveron



– a first violinist of whom Brodsky



himself, dedicatee of Tchaikovsky’s



Violin Concerto, would have been



proud – underlines the sheer strength



of will behind the big song of the



finale, a far from easy signature theme



suddenly giving way to what sounds



here like a frenetic, potentially



catastrophic coda.



Unexpectedly, the centre of gravity



is not always to be found in both



quartets’ searching slow movements;



that they do not sear the listener as



usual may be due to the Brodsky’s



decision not to spill the emotional



beans too soon, though there’s still



plenty of forcefulness and focus,



vividly recorded. All I miss is the more



flexible, gracious and occasionally



fantastical handling of the songs and



dances that sets the classic Borodin



Quartet performances apart. This,



though, is fine work and should please



this team’s many admirers. All power



to the Brodsky label. David Nice