Grieg - Smetana

Presentación del Álbum

The string quartets of Grieg and Smetana, as annotator Melissa Khong notes, make a natural pairing. Both composers, paragons of the nationalist movements within their respective countries, mostly avoided classical forms, but both turned to the string quartet when they faced personal crises, and the tension between strong emotion and formal restrictions had compelling results. Smetana perhaps made a bit more of the situation than Grieg did, but Grieg's quartet is a bit neglected, and this pairing is not as common as it should be. On this 2024 release, the Modigliani Quartet gives these works a suitably intense, inward quality, with a strikingly rich treatment of the Smetana slow movement. The group excels in the Grieg quartet as well; their performance is highly dramatic, but the work can stand up to this. The quartet is a bit hampered by the Mirare label team's overwrought sound; the ambiance of the Schubertiade hall in Austria is fine, but the group is miked too close. Nevertheless, these are performances that penetrate to the heart of two unique works.

© James Manheim /TiVo