The New Haydn Quartet departs from the usual in its second well-recorded disc of Tchaikovsky string quartets. Whereas many cycles customarily include the Souvenir de Florence sextet, this Naxos release offers some interesting Tchaikovsky rarities. Composed during Tchaikovsky’s years at the Moscow Conservatory, the Four Movements for string quartet are minor efforts, while the String Quartet movement in B-flat major (based on a Ukrainian folk song) does, like his overture The Storm, show remarkable ingenuity and promise.
String Quartet No. 3 is the last of Tchaikovsky’s numbered quartets. Completed in 1876, it is notable for its slow introduction utilizing a theme similar in character to the famous “swan” duet from Swan Lake. The climax of this theme is a powerful descending refrain that takes the music from a brief glimmer of hope in the major mode down into gloomy minor. Disappointingly, the New Haydn players rush the customary accelerando and rob this moment of its pathos. In contrast, the Borodin Quartet on Teldec preserves the arc of the phrase and thus makes a searing impact. The opposite occurs in the body of the movement, played here in a strangely bloodless manner. Where is the steely tension generated by the Borodins? Alas, the same goes for the rest of the work, which the New Haydn plays as if it were not up to the level of Quartet No. 2. This point could be argued, but again the Borodin Quartet makes us believers where the New Haydn leaves us doubtful.
