Debussy/Ravel String Quartets
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy
Label: Valois
Magazine Review Date: 8/1992
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 54
Catalogue Number: V4409
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| String Quartet |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Danish Quartet |
Author: Christopher Headington
Having suggested more than once in Gramophone that coupling the Debussy and Ravel string quartets has become a cliche of the record industry, I now fear that my own comment is destined itself to become a cliche! The point is that they make a perfect pairing in that they both complement and contrast, and what is wrong with perfection? And it's dangerous to argue that if there's to be yet another such disc it must be somehow 'different' from distinguished predecessors, for that can bring an outre kind of interpretation that does nothing for the music.
However, the Danish Quartet manage to be individual without going outside the bounds of the appropriate. You can guess that this will be so as early as the second chord of bar 2 in the Debussy, which is played nearly piano in a forte context so that the crescendo which immediately follows will be more telling. These players have obviously thought long and hard about the score, and by and large I like what they do with it. Indeed, this performance is nervously alive in a way that suits the composer, and brimful of passion and tenderness. There's plenty of bite in this string sound, but warmth and varied colour also, and in the first movement the players know how to relax without losing the overall momentum, though I should fault their beginning the recapitulation faster than the opening. The heart of this work is the wonderful slow movement, and the Danish players meet this challenge splendidly in a deeply felt performance. I have heard more polished accounts of the finale, but not all of them have had the inner urgency of this one. The recording, made a full quarter of a century ago, is surprisingly faithful and immediate, requiring no apology although the softest passages (e.g. the last page of the scherzo) are not as quiet as they could be today.
The Danish Quartet also bring much sensitivity to the Ravel, excelling in the most intimate passages of the scherzo and slow movement, though I do miss the veiled pianissimo and gossamer textures offered by some more modern performances and recordings, and in some bigger passages the sound is a touch harsh. Even so, this is a performance of some distinction that deserves to be heard alongside other distinguished versions.'
However, the Danish Quartet manage to be individual without going outside the bounds of the appropriate. You can guess that this will be so as early as the second chord of bar 2 in the Debussy, which is played nearly piano in a forte context so that the crescendo which immediately follows will be more telling. These players have obviously thought long and hard about the score, and by and large I like what they do with it. Indeed, this performance is nervously alive in a way that suits the composer, and brimful of passion and tenderness. There's plenty of bite in this string sound, but warmth and varied colour also, and in the first movement the players know how to relax without losing the overall momentum, though I should fault their beginning the recapitulation faster than the opening. The heart of this work is the wonderful slow movement, and the Danish players meet this challenge splendidly in a deeply felt performance. I have heard more polished accounts of the finale, but not all of them have had the inner urgency of this one. The recording, made a full quarter of a century ago, is surprisingly faithful and immediate, requiring no apology although the softest passages (e.g. the last page of the scherzo) are not as quiet as they could be today.
The Danish Quartet also bring much sensitivity to the Ravel, excelling in the most intimate passages of the scherzo and slow movement, though I do miss the veiled pianissimo and gossamer textures offered by some more modern performances and recordings, and in some bigger passages the sound is a touch harsh. Even so, this is a performance of some distinction that deserves to be heard alongside other distinguished versions.'
Debussy/Ravel String Quartets
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