The Prazák Quartet is nothing if not consistent, and this new entry in its continuing Beethoven Quartet series more than lives up to its predecessors. It’s quite an accomplishment for any ensemble tackling late Beethoven to stay competitive with such illustrious names as the Busch, Budapest, Italiano, Vegh, and Talich Quartets, to say nothing of the Emerson, Cleveland, and other quality groups. The Prazáks are as good as any foursome currently before the public, but as recorded it’s a lean, top-led group whose inner voices don’t always get their due, and first violinist Vaclav Remes has a narrow, rather colorless tone that detracts at times. I say “as recorded” because the ensemble exhibited none of these deficiencies at its New York concert earlier this year, and the violin tone in Op. 131 is more ingratiating than in Op. 127, which was recorded a month earlier.
The later work also gets a marginally more powerful performance here. In the opening maestoso each instrument’s clearly sculpted entrance immediately captivates. The long Andante with variations is superb; the melody is sung with the cantabile expressiveness Beethoven asks for, and cellist Michael Kanka’s exchanges with his colleagues are strongly fashioned. Throughout the work transitions are flawlessly rendered so there’s never a vitiating sectional effect, and the magnificent final Allegro has tremendous energy along with a deeply contemplative poco adagio leading to the powerful fortissimo ending.
In the Op. 127 I missed some of the power and rhetorical flourishes the Italiano brings to the first movement. The Adagio is beautifully done, but again, I wanted more sustained tension and flow such as the Talich supplies at similar tempos. But no such carping is applicable to the fleet-footed Scherzando movement, where the group’s articulation is stunning, or to the masterful Finale, which registers cleanly despite the swift tempo. This disc is self-recommending to collectors of the Prazák’s Beethoven series; others would do well to join them.
