The Daedalus Quartet is yet another young, very talented group, and on this disc it offers a fascinating slice of quartet history from the first two decades of the last century. This is one of those programs that you really have to play straight through, for it is very much more than the sum of its parts. Sibelius’ single mature string quartet often proves elusive in performance and never has become popular, though it gets easier as it goes. It’s a dark, intense, often turbulent piece, and the group plays it very well, offering a particularly searching and passionate account of the central adagio and a very strong finale–though a touch more flexibility in terms of dynamics would have been a plus.
I have no qualms at all about the first two of Stravinsky’s three pieces, particularly the second, which is wonderfully grotesque (it’s supposed to be). In the slow third piece the chording isn’t quite perfect, but then the music is so strange anyway that some evidence of human frailty might actually count in its favor.
The Ravel, of course, has been done to death, but this performance has a lot going for it. I like the flowing tempo for the opening, the simplicity of phrasing in the second subject, and the way the ensemble lets the music hover between stillness and motion in the quietest parts of the development section. The scherzo moves at a dazzling pace. It’s quite impressive, though like many young ensembles (and some old ones!), the Daedalus needs to learn to be loud without letting its tone suffer. Some of those pizzicatos sound as though Bartók had written them rather than Ravel. Still, it’s a minor point, and the last two movements are quite beautiful and really scintillating. Bridge’s typically excellent sonics set the seal on a program that showcases both artists and repertoire to fine effect. Congratulations to all, especially for finding an apt way to present Ravel’s quartet without the obligatory pairing of the Debussy. Very smart indeed.
