Bartók: Divertimento - Brahms: String Quintet in G

Albumbeschreibung

While Bartók’s Divertimento for String Orchestra − written in 1939 upon commission by Paul Sacher who provided him with living arrangements in Switzerland – was indeed planned for a string ensemble, Brahms’ 1890 String Quintet No. 2 was initially intended for five soloists, but the Amsterdam Sinfonietta decided to perform it as a chamber orchestra. Undoubtedly their intention was to highlight the orchestral aspect and the richness of the writing, and they did just that masterfully! The juxtaposition of these two masterpieces is no coincidence: Brahms drew influence from “false-Hungarian” music, inherited from the gipsies of Vienna’s cafés and often borrowing from gleaned melodies, while Bartók – at least in the first and last movements – relied on actual Hungarian musical language, although his folklore is for the most part completely imaginary! The second part of this Divertimento is one of the saddest things one could ever imagine, with a slow and unrelenting march filled with heavy harmonies and complaints rising from the very bottom of the soul. It’s worth noting that the Sinfonietta, led by Candida Thompson on the violin, doesn’t hesitate to transform the end of trills in glissandos, and although the partition doesn’t command it, it provides extra lament to the piece. Was Bartók, just a few weeks before World War 2 erupted, letting his sadness run wild about leaving Hungary, Europe, and soon after, life itself? The last movement, although joyful and danceable, almost feels like a headlong rush. © SM/Qobuz