Special gratitude here, I think, for the very rarely heard G minor Quartet, Grieg's only complete work in the genre written around the age of 35 with a phrase from his recently composed Ibsen setting, Spillemaend (''Fiddlers'') as its unifying motto. Most critics tell us its neglect is partly due to over-thick, at times quasi-orchestral scoring, and I have to admit that I did find my ear slightly on edge in some of the bigger, double-stopped climaxes (especially when high-lying) in this recording. In the main, however, I have nothing but praise for the intensity and temperament these players bring to the work's swift changes of mood and sharp contrasts of dynamics, not least in the first movement's dramatic alternations of disquiet and seductive song. And how immediately they catch the folk-spirit of the Intermezzo's central trio, and what splendid bite and brio they bring to the saltarello-type finale. All in all a performance that makes you think again about this music's customary dismissal as one of the composer's weaker works—and that despite a few moments of patently laboured invention.
The coupling could scarcely be more apt. Grieg always loved Schumann, whose three quartets of Op. 41 (completed when he was just 32) were his first serious ventures in this medium too. Again, here I was impressed with the players' sense of style. Their response to the first movement's metronome marking is leisurely. But their playing is lovingly lyrical, with the right heightening of tension in the central development. The variations that follow have a welcome unity. It's good to hear the third (un poco adagio) played expressively without sacrifice of its lilt. For the Adagio molto they find the right note of Schumannesque longing without self-conscious point-making, while the spirited finale flows with a continuity concealing all suspicion of sectional construction. There's just a touch of edginess, under pressure, in the sound. But the recording is bright and clear.'