DSCH 22 Shostakovich CD Reviews - String Quartets Nos. 5 and 15, Piano Trio No. 1

Shostakovich: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 5
String Quartet No. 5 in Bb major, op. 92; String Quartet No. 15 in Eb minor, op. 144.
Sorrel Quartet: Gina McCormack (violin 1), Catherine Yates (violin 2), Sarah-Jane Bradley (viola), Helen Thatcher (cello).
Chandos CHAN 10248. DDD. TT 68:49.
Recorded Snape Maltings Concert Hall, UK, 15-17 January 2004.

Oleg Kagan Edition Vol. XXX
Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor, op. 8[a]; String Quartet No. 15 in Eb minor, op. 144[b].
Oleg Kagan (violin 1), Grigory Zhislin (violin 2)[b], Yuri Bashmet (viola)[b], Natalia Gutman (cello), Elisso Wirssaladze (piano)[a].
Live Classics LCL 110. ADD. TT 53:26.
Recorded live, Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Finland, 27 July[a] and 29 July[b] 1982.

Two enormous peaks, with a still, sad centre that returns at the end. This concise description of Shostakovich's Fifth Quartet occurred to me after listening to the Sorrel Quartet's excellent recording in Vol. 5 of their already distinguished cycle. The most impressive feature of this recording is that it gives such a good idea of the overall shape of the piece.

The Sorrels capture well the contours of the music's fluctuating moods in the first movement, beginning with a relatively brisk tempo, and rising rapidly to passionate heights in the repeat section, followed by an easy transition to more relaxed music. The playing in the slow second movement is of great tenderness and sweetness, and at times produces an almost unearthly calm. Following this, the third movement begins almost as if picking up the morning's duties in a leisurely fashion after the lonely yet beautiful night of the second movement. The build up of tension towards the climax in this and the first movement is inexorable and very finely judged, reaching a tremendous peak before being dissipated through the gruff barking of the cello. This leads eventually to a grandiose statement of an excerpt from Ustvolskaya's Clarinet Trio that appears as a motif in many of Shostakovich's works. The transition to a jaunty waltz theme, leading to the return of the still sad calm at the end appears natural and almost inevitable in this performance. It all makes sense, and one has the impression of listening to an unfolding musical story. At the end, time really seems to have come to a standstill, leaving the listener utterly lost in the music, and content just to be there, where all the tension has at last been resolved, albeit into sadness.

In the Emerson Quartet's account (Deutsche Grammophon 289 463 284-2; reviewed in DSCH No. 13), one gets a more analytical view of the music; the four voices can be discerned with great clarity, and one gets a good picture of how the music fits together - the parts that make up the whole. However, I have the impression of listening to four exceptional soloists, rather than of a string quartet playing as one person. The Emersons give one a good feeling for the components of the musical texture, bar by bar, promoting understanding of what makes up the music harmonically. By contrast, the Sorrels give a better understanding of the large scale structure of the quartet, and that, together with the quality of the integrated playing makes, for me, a more satisfying listening experience.

One (very picky) criticism is that in the exquisitely played final bars of the Fifth Quartet a somewhat intrusive extraneous noise (possibly wind, or traffic passing by) has come in over the playing. This is probably only really noticeable on headphones, but it is a shame that it should come at such a beautiful and quiet moment in the music, for one of the Sorrels' major strengths is the ability to retain absolute concentration and passion in the most quiet and thinly textured music.

Much the same analogy of a continuing narrative is carried over into the Sorrels' account of the Fifteenth Quartet, a work that can sound somewhat disjointed in some recordings. The violent mood swings in the second and third movements can make the music sound episodic, rather than an integrated whole. The Sorrels do seem to make the piece a finely told story, characterised by smooth flowing movement (especially in the sinuous Nocturne movement).

The first movement is played at an even pace that draws the listener into the heart of the music's solemn tragedy. A particularly moving point is the entry of the fourth voice (the viola) in the opening threnody, not particularly because of any particular way in which it is played at that point, but because it seems to be part of a well-thought out whole. The use of the senza vibrato style of playing (believed to have been favoured by the composer for this work) often adds a keen and pure edge to the sound. In the second movement, the tone row of hairpin crescendi that begins the movement sounds extremely pure, the notes floating in out of nothing, and building up smoothly towards some particularly stunning sforzandi. Again, the movement as a whole makes sense and does not appear disjointed, despite the disparate elements, the screaming single-note crescendi, the limping waltz, and the full-blooded chords. The sense of flow and narrative continues right through to the last movement, with fine shaping of the florid scurrying passages.

This recording is easy to listen to; some may not like this feature, considering instead that Shostakovich's last quartet should be uncomfortable, riddled with morbid fears. Does it feel like death, with fragmentary memories of the earlier movements returning and then fluttering away? Certainly at the end, with a kind of liturgical chant played above a trill on the viola, one gets the impression of attending occasion of high seriousness, such as a funeral, where all the levity and laughter have been wiped from one's being. And strangely we often crave such moments, because, in the words of Philip Larkin:

… someone will forever be surprising
A hunger in himself to be more serious.

This, from the poem Churchgoing, seems to sum up the feel of the last page of Shostakovich's score - liturgical, yet secular, and deadly serious. This excellent new release from the Sorrel Quartet provides a host of opportunities to satisfy this hunger for seriousness.

The second disc under review provides a markedly contrasting view of the Fifteenth Quartet. The Live Classics label was founded to provide CD recordings of the work of the remarkable violinist Oleg Kagan, who during his tragically short life, left scant legacy of studio recordings. This label assembles collections taken from live performances featuring Kagan and friends. The quartet in this recording is an ensemble consisting of Kagan, Grigory Zhislin, Yuri Bashmet, and Kagan's wife, Natalya Gutman.

The most immediately noticeable aspect of this performance is the extremely slow tempi, much slower than the Sorrels', except in the last movement, where the Sorrels are slightly slower. This is most marked in the first movement, which lasts in this performance an incredible 15:06 compared to the Sorrels' 11:31. The score says 80 quarter-notes to the minute, but the Kagan ensemble take the opening passage at around 58. This makes the opening movement seem interminable, but this is clearly a deliberate choice. In sharp contrast with the flowing movement of the Sorrels' account, we have a much bleaker feel to the music, one of stultifying oppression. Perhaps the performers had in mind the composer's instructions to play the first movement "so that flies drop dead in mid-air".

Does this deliberate choice of slow tempo pay off? I am unconvinced that it does on CD, though I suspect it was mesmerising in the atmosphere of the live performance. Another noticeable aspect of this performance is much greater use of vibrato, particularly in the hairpin crescendi, producing a truly eerie sensation.

The programme notes provide a fascinating historical insight into the "first performance" of this work, linking it to Kagan and Gutman. Shostakovich was very keen to hear his new quartet played as soon as possible after completion, so he asked Kagan and Gutman to organise a performance with friends after a few days of studying the score. Thus Kagan duly played at the first performance in Shostakovich's apartment. However, Natalya Gutman recalls that this had to be kept secret so as not to hurt the feelings of the Beethoven Quartet, who were supposed to play the premiere. The performance on this disc dates from 1982.

Kagan, Bashmet, Richter - Moscow Studio Archives

The ensemble playing is good; one does not get the sense of four soloists thrown together, but of an instinctive understanding between the players as in a regular quartet. Though the volume is from the Oleg Kagan Edition, Kagan by no means overshadows the other players (as indeed one should not in a quartet). For a better appreciation of his mastery, there is a tumultuous performance of the Shostakovich Violin Sonata, accompanied by Richter, coupled with the Viola Sonata with Yuri Bashmet (Moscow Studio Archives MOS19064 or Regis RRC 1128; reviewed in DSCH No. 20).

The quartet is coupled with a performance of the First Piano Trio. This student work, some ten minutes long, is very enjoyable, giving few hints of the composer's characteristic "voice". Some of the music is reminiscent of 19th century French music, and this alternates with more spiky music, perhaps influenced by Prokofiev or Stravinsky. There is a truly beautiful central romantic theme , reminding us that this work was written for the composer's girlfriend, Tatyana Glivenko.

High recommendation, then, for the Sorrel disc, and eager anticipation for the completion of their cycle. The Kagan disc has considerable historical interest, and a very unusual interpretation of the Fifteenth Quartet, but will be of less interest as a "first choice" recording.

Iain Strachan
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