Verdi & Britten String Quartets

Jed Distler

Artistic Quality:

Sound Quality:

This one’s a tough call. On one hand, the Verdi Quartet’s Verdi Quartet leaves a bitter aftertaste in every movement. The ensemble’s abrasive sonority seems totally wrong for music that depends on melodic shaping and singing tone to convey its salient points. Short note values are sometimes attacked in a manner that compromises clarity of pitch. Turn to the recent recording from the Melos Quartet on Harmonia Mundi, though, and you’re in another world. Beautiful tone, sensitive phrasing, wit, and charm: it’s all there. At the same time, the Verdians make the spooky, insect-like writing in the concluding Recitative and Passacaglia of Britten’s haunting Third Quartet sound appropriately astringent and choked. Similarly, the ensemble’s gaunt aggression underscores the intensity of the Ostinato and Burlesque movements. While I ultimately prefer the Maggini Quartet’s Naxos recording for its greater tonal allure and more supple response to Britten’s elegiac sentiments, the Verdians are clearly attuned to the music’s kinship with the late quartets of Shostakovich. Thomas Rabenschlag’s skillfully crafted and effective paraphrase on themes from Aida (Verdi’s, not Elton John’s!) inspires the Verdi Quartet to relax and let its sonority unfold like a rose that’s about to bloom. After hearing this, you wonder if other Verdi operas lend themselves to string quartet treatment.


Recording Details:

Reference Recording: Britten: Maggini Quartet (Naxos), Verdi: Melos Quartet (Harmonia Mundi)

GIUSEPPE VERDI - String Quartet in E minor
BENJAMIN BRITTEN - String Quartet No. 3 Op. 94
THOMAS RABENSCHLAG - Paraphrase on Themes from the opera Aida by G. Verdi for String Quartet
-

Search Music Reviews

Search Sponsor

  • Insider Reviews only
  • Click here for Search Tips

Visit Our Merchandise Store

Visit Store
  • Benjamin Bernheim Rules as Met’s Hoffmann
    Benjamin Bernheim Rules as Met’s Hoffmann Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, NY; Oct 24, 2024 Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann is a nasty work. Despite its
  • RIP David Vernier, Editor-in-Chief
    David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com’s founding Editor-in-Chief passed away Thursday morning, August 1, 2024 after a long battle with cancer. The end came shockingly quickly. Just a
  • Finally, It’s SIR John
    He’d received many honors before, but it wasn’t until last week that John Rutter, best known for his choral compositions and arrangements, especially works related