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Alban Berg: String Quartet, Lyric Suite / Anton Webern: String Quartet

by Pražák Quartet, Vanda Taberi

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1.
String Quartet, Op. 3 I. Langsam 09:26
2.
String Quartet, Op. 3 II. Mäßige Viertel 10:37
3.
Lyric Suite, for String Quartet I. Allegretto gioviale 02:58
4.
Lyric Suite, for String Quartet II. Andante amoroso 06:01
5.
Lyric Suite, for String Quartet III. Allegro misterioso - Trio estatico 03:19
6.
Lyric Suite, for String Quartet IV. Adagio appassionato 05:08
7.
Lyric Suite, for String Quartet V. Presto delirando - Tenebroso 04:22
8.
Lyric Suite, for String Quartet VI. Largo desolato 05:46
9.
Lyric Suite, for Soprano and String Quartet VI. Largo desolato "De Profundis Clamavi" 05:57
10.
String Quartet, Op. 28 I. Mäßig 03:43
11.
String Quartet, Op. 28 II. Gemächlich 01:52
12.
String Quartet, Op. 28 III. Sehr fließend 02:22

about

"Alban Berg spent his whole life writing opera, and both the Lyric Suite and the String Quartet are no exception. Though he was a student (and properly worshipful disciple) of Arnold Schönberg, he was always bent toward the theatre. Both the early String Quartet, with its post-Wagnerian epic emotional sweep, and the more well-known Lyric Suite show a composer learning and refining his expressive (as well as musical) techniques. Something Berg did take away from his master was a cabalistic “number play” approach to music - the Lyric Suite is well documented as a secret diary and encoded love letter to Hanna Fuchs. In 1977, after the death of Berg’s widow, it was also discovered that the aching lyrical line actually was a setting of Baudelaire’s poem “De Profundis Clamavi”. Here, for the first time, the Pražák Quartet (joined by the exquisite and appropriate soprano Vanda Tabery) offers the Lyric Suite with sung text. The result: spectacular.
Lovers of Berg’s music will be thrilled with this playing, which is a far cry from the plinks and pings usually involved with performances of the music from the Second Viennese School. Quite the contrary, the Pražák takes Berg for the romantic he truly was, without applying insincere schmaltz. These musicians have a gift for direct and communicative playing, cutting to the heart of the matter: from the opening flutter of the String Quartet to the small and elegant master-crafting of Webern’s Op. 28, they offer solid, dependable, respectable, and above all gorgeous performances. They understand the music rather than being able to explain the tone-rows and precepts.
If this sort of music intimidates you, or if you have found it off-puttingly inaccessible and ugly, this disc offers a chance to form a second opinion. Here you will find notes transformed through interpretation - which, after all, is what real lovers of this or any other kind of music really want. Rather than listen to this disc because of its potential to edify or enlighten, or because it’s something you ought to hear because it’s somehow good for you (a musical bran muffin), you should just listen to it for its powerful performances of moving and beautiful music. [ClassicsToday.com, December 2001]

Awards: Choc by Le Monde de la Musique, Diapason d’Or, Recommended by Classica, ClassicsToday.com"

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released January 1, 2001

Pražák Quartet (Ensemble)

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Prazak Quartet France

The Pražák Quartet, one of today´s leading string quartets, was founded in 1972 by students at the Prague Conservatory.

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