German Electrola in the 1950s and 1960s were a veritable gold-mine of recorded material that never found its way into the UK catalogues and a number of these Smetana Quartet recordings were only ever available as expensive imports. They document the prime of a fine ensemble that sprang to life in wartime Prague and retired from active service as recently as 1989. The intervening 46 years saw various changes in personnel: both Josef Vlach and the conductor, Vaclav Neumann had, at one time or another, played in the Quartet, but the “beauty of tone, balancing of chords, dynamic shading, precision of ensemble and matching vibrato” (I quote from Tully Potter’s exhaustive documentation) were, for most of the time, as much in evidence in the 1960s and early 1970s as in the 1950s.
There can be no doubt whatever that these generous CDs exhibit some supremely distinguished string quartet playing, but whether readers will unanimously warm to each featured interpretation is another matter. The Schubert Quintet has many admirable virtues, including absolute internal clarity, genial characterization of the first movement’s second subject and the whole of the finale, rhythmic stability and excellent sound quality. But, as Potter points out, the original producer had insisted that the players employ a single swift tempo for both the inner and the outer sections of the Adagio, an option that will strike some as needlessly pedantic. No tempo alteration is marked in the score and I have to say that although I find the results quite refreshing, the actual phrasing seems a trifle bland, certainly in comparison with the Smetana’s best rivals (my own favourites include Casals, Heifetz, and the Hagens). The Brahms Op. 67 coupling is less controversial, though no less musical: inner voices are crystal-clear and the first movement is nearer to a genuine Vivace than in many better-known performances. Only the Andante’s opening strikes me as rather foursquare (compare, say, the more limpid Alban Berg Quartet – especially as recorded live in 1991). The Smetana’s Haydn is polished, intelligent and highly articulate (try Op. 33 No. 3’s confidential Scherzo allegretto or sizzling Rondo Presto finale) but their Mozart, expertly structured though it is, will not be to all tastes. For example, the cello’s insistent repeated Cs that open the Dissonance Quartet distract from the ineffably beautiful voices that sail above and around them. Compare the Quartetto Italiano (on an eight-disc set), whose poignant voicing (gentle tone projection, soft accenting, arched phrasing) is as perennial as the music itself. In fact, just after preparing the initial draft of this review, I happened to chance upon Testament’s brand-new reissue of the Quartetto Italiano’s 1956 recording of K458 (to be reviewed later), a supple, lightly bowed reading, and far more to my own personal liking. The D minor Quartet, K421, is distinguished more by tonal refinement and technical aplomb than by any special interpretative insights. The Amadeus are noticeably more alive to the value of expressive nuancing (especially in the opening Allegro moderato), and the Juilliard more alert to the music’s tragic subtext (most notably in the early 1960s; Columbia, 3/63 – nla). The tempo chosen for the opening bars of the E flat Quartet’s Andante is well-nigh ideal, but why so little input from the cello (a crucial component in what is possibly the most sublime moment in all of the quartets)? Best is the long ‘theme and variations’ that constitute K464’s Andante: superb playing by any standards.
The Smetana’s Mozartian priorities parade stylistic propriety, respect for the printed text (excepting that they invariably omit first-movement repeats), solidity of tempo and a coolly blended tonal surface. They are extremely accomplished performances, fastidiously prepared but, to this listener’s ears at least, just a mite inscrutable. Were I to choose a single disc from this valuable batch of recordings, it would be the Schubert/Brahms coupling. Sound quality tends to vary between sessions but the transfers are truly state-of-the-art.'