Mendelssohn’s youthful Octet receives an immaculately polished and vivacious performance from the combined Brandis and Westphal Quartets, drawn from the ranks of the Berlin Philharmonic in 1982. Originally this recording was part of a DG boxed LP set featuring BPO chamber ensembles, taped at Herbert von Karajan’s behest. The major difference between this and Decca’s Vienna Octet version is its superior recorded sound: the Vienna performance (analog) is quite closely recorded and lacks the spatial detailing of its rival. And that’s important in this work, with its often very complex thematic exchanges and wealth of counterpoint, although DG’s engineering also captures a wider dynamic range. The combined Berlin quartets are ideally balanced. Their scherzo is a notch quicker than in the Decca/Vienna version, and dynamic contrasts are more telling, both here and in the closing presto. Equally, the Berliners’ sturdy, robust Andante gains considerably over the Vienna Octet’s more lyrical, slightly old-world style, employing lighter bow-strokes and that inimitably Viennese wider vibrato.
Eloquence pairs the work with DG’s 1964 Berlin Octet performance of Beethoven’s Op. 20 Septet. Sonically, it’s less pleasing, with some residual tape-hiss and a slightly dry recording ambience. The performance however is superb. Highlights include wonderfully lithe and imaginative characterizations of the Andante’s variations and a bracing account of the finale. The Vienna Octet reading also is rewarding, thanks to the more varied tonal palette afforded by the distinctive Viennese timbre of the clarinet, bassoon, and horn. Both versions admirably convey the work’s wit and humour, but the Berliners achieve the more convincing transition from the Finale’s serious, slightly austere preface into its racy alla Marcia section, before wrapping up the whole work with a more spirited final Presto than their rivals.
