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Anton​í​n Dvo​ř​á​k: String Quintets No. 2 (original version) & No. 3 "American"

by Kocian Quartet Ensemble, Jiří Hudec, Josef Klusoñ

supported by
Damon & Lynn Pritchett
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1.
String Quintet No. 3 in E Flat Major, Op. 97, B. 180 "Americain" I. Allegro non tanto 08:48
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2.
String Quintet No. 3 in E Flat Major, Op. 97, B. 180 "Americain" II. Allegro vivo 05:55
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3.
String Quintet No. 3 in E Flat Major, Op. 97, B. 180 "Americain" III. Larghetto 09:46
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4.
String Quintet No. 3 in E Flat Major, Op. 97, B. 180 "Americain" IV. Finale. Allegro giusto 08:12
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5.
String Quintet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 18 I. Allegro con fuoco (Original version 1875) 10:23
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6.
String Quintet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 18 II. Intermezzo. Andante religioso. Molto adagio (Original version 1875) 04:33
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7.
String Quintet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 18 III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace - Trio. L’istesso tempo, quasi allegretto (Original version 1875) 07:56
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8.
String Quintet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 18 IV. Poco andante (Original version 1875) 07:30
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9.
String Quintet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 18 V. Finale. Allegro assai (Original version 1875) 07:18
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about

Of these two works, written 18 years apart, one - the Quintet in G major Op. 18, in its original version of March 1875 -, attests to an indirect homage addressed to the composer of that most famous serenade, the Mozart of the kleine Nachtmusik, while the other - the Quintet in E flat major with two violas -, represents Dvořák’s ‘American’ mastery, transcending, in its way, the model of the Brahms Quintet Op. 88. The original Op. 18 is built like a Baroque serenade for strings with double-bass with climax reminiscence of the good-natured alacrity of Schubert’s Trout Quintet. The central Intermezzo suppressed in the Op. 77 revised edition, is entitled andante religioso, firstly as movement of the youthful Quartet in E minor No. 4, unfold like a Tristanesque nocturne, the addition of the double-bass underlining the magical spell reminiscent of then Siegfried-Idyll. It was published as a Nocturne for string orchestra Op. 40 at the end of 1883. Dvořák spent the summer of 1893 in Spilville (Iowa) and composed his third String Quintet between 26 June an 1st August, taking up the instrumental composition dear to Mozart and Brahms with a second viola: opening Allegro presenting no less than three distinct themes using pentatonic Amerindian scale, Scherzo as a rondo in three episodes too based on Bohemian rhythms, with a central un poco meno mosso with the viola I acting the bard, Larghetto, slow movement only in the sixteen first bars, after a set of radiant variations (maybe the most original part of this score) and then the Finale, a rondo in which three naturally dancing themes parade past with a surprising freedom of phrasing. The string quintet is transformed into a small orchestra, the cello frequently proposing Amerindian rhythms whereas the last motif, calm and intense, takes on a folk tinge with its archaistic ecclesiastical mode. Premiered in Boston New Year Day 1894 with highly famous ‘American’ Quartet Op. 96 by the Kneisel Quartet (Zach, 2nd viola).

Awards: ffff by Télérama, 5 by Diapason, Recommended by Répertoire, Recommended by Classica

“The first manifestation of an abandoning of the influence of Wagner and the German Romantics in favour of a return to nationalistic Czech inspiration [is] the Quintet in G with double bass, recorded here for the first time in its original version, interpreted by the Kocian Quartet and Jiří Hudec. They impose a reading as light as it is intense, both animated and restrained, respecting the natural sweep of a discourse that the composer wanted to go rigorously from sobriety to exuberance. In the ‘American’ Quintet, the Kocian Quartet, joined by the excellent Josef Klusoñ (violist of the Pražák Quartet), confine themselves, with as much charm as intensity, to the spirit of the composer for whom simplicity, gentleness and vitality were the intangible rules of expression.” - Le Monde de la Musique (May 2001)

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credits

released January 1, 2001

Kocian Quartet Ensemble
Jiří Hudec (Double Bass)
Josef Klusoñ (Viola)

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