KODÁLY String Quartets Nos 1 & 2
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Zoltán Kodály
Genre:
Chamber
Label: Hyperion
Magazine Review Date: 03/2014
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 66
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CDA67999
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
String Quartet No. 1 |
Zoltán Kodály, Composer
Dante Quartet Zoltán Kodály, Composer |
Intermezzo |
Zoltán Kodály, Composer
Zoltán Kodály, Composer |
Gavotte |
Zoltán Kodály, Composer
Dante Quartet Zoltán Kodály, Composer |
String Quartet No. 2 |
Zoltán Kodály, Composer
Dante Quartet Zoltán Kodály, Composer |
Author: Rob Cowan
I’d say that overall Kodály’s style more approximates his compatriots Dohnányi or even Miklós Rózsa than Bartók, the shimmering closing minutes of the 1909 First Quartet’s Lento assai (from 9'05" into tr 2) alluding unmistakably to Dohnányi’s Serenade in C for string trio, which was composed five years earlier. The two shorter works make for attractive makeweights, the 1905 Intermezzo for string trio recalling the Russian school (Borodin in the outer sections, Shostakovich-in-embryo in the Trio), whereas the Gavotte suggests a Delian brand of melancholy. As to rival versions of the quartets, the gutsy Kontra Quartet (BIS) offer fine readings of both quartets but suffer from an excessively resonant recording; the Kodály Quartet (Hungaroton) are relatively underpowered, especially in the first movement of the First Quartet. Which makes this new CD a secure recommendation for both works.
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