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Utrecht String Quartet - Alexander Grechaninov: String Quartets Op. 2 & 70 (2003)

Posted By: Designol

Date: 16 Oct 2023 21:51:43

Grechaninov tends to be remembered rather tepidly as a conservative relic from Imperial Russia. Yet his progress as a child of the 1860s went as far as one might reasonably expect, from the healthy absorption of 19th-century Russian masters in the Op. 2 Quartet, his self-styled ‘first large independent work’, to the chromatic experimentation of the D minor Quartet, composed in 1913. They make a pretty pair. The warm, slightly laid-back approach of the likeable Utrecht Quartet fits the simple folksiness of the earlier piece like a delicately fashioned glove, making modest claims for a humble offshoot of Borodin’s glorious Second Quartet, with a discreet dash of Tchaikovskian melancholy. A more urgent, forward-moving approach would surely make a better case for the seemingly fragmented gestures of Op. 70’s opening movement; but first violinist Eeva Koskinen’s unaffected way with the Largo melody before fugal earnestness takes over is ideal, and an equally natural robustness highlights Grechaninov’s instinctive if hard-fought goodbye to chromaticism in much the more successful and meaningful of the two finales. Worth investigating, but there’s no doubt that Taneyev is a long way in front of Grechaninov as master of turn-of-the-century Russian chamber music.

Review by David Nice, BBC Music Magazine

Nearly two decades separate Grechaninov’s two string quartets, and unlike much of his orchestral music there is a detectable advance in his compositional style over the duration. String Quartet Op. 2 (1894) is solidly in the late-19th-century Russian tradition, although the outer movements resemble Dvorák–particularly in their dancing rhythms and “Czech”-sounding melodies. However, the slow movement returns to home turf with its finely-spun, Russian folk-style melody.

The 1913 Quartet Op. 70 reflects Grechaninov’s exposure to that era’s musical upheavals and displays a rare example of the composer exploring uncharted (for him) tonal and harmonic territory. The slow first movement takes a while to settle into a key, and while the scherzo is more tonally distinct, the following Largo is even more harmonically diffuse–bringing to mind the slow movement of Sibelius’ Fourth Symphony couched in Scriabin-esque chromaticism. However, after these tentative steps into the unknown, Grechaninov retreats into comfortable familiarity with a decidedly old-world finale that sounds like watered-down Borodin.

The Utrecht String Quartet offers lively and involving performances of Op. 2, but seems to diminish in intensity a bit in the less cohesive (and frankly, less interesting) Op. 70 (the scherzo’s rhythms and accents are not as pointed as they could be). MDG’s recording presents the ensemble with effective clarity, depth, and impact.

Review by Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

Alexander Grechaninov at Allmusic
Alexander Grechaninov at Wiki

Utrecht String Quartet at Allmusic
Utrecht String Quartet Website

Utrecht String Quartet:
Eeva Koskinen, violin
Katherine Routley, violin
Sven Arne Tepl, viola
Sebastian Koloski, violoncello

Recorded at the Doopsgezinde Remonstrantse Kirk, Deventer, Netherlands April 2-4, 2002

Tracklist:

String Quartet No. 1 in G major, Op. 2 (1894)
01. I. Andante – Allegro non troppo (08:13)
02. II. Andante (07:21)
03. III. Scherzo. Presto (06:17)
04. IV. Finale. Andante – Molto vivace e con brio (07:55)

String Quartet No. 2 in D minor, Op. 70 (1913)
05. I. Lento (07:13)
06. II. Scherzo. Allegro vivace (05:23)
07. III. Largo (07:26)
08. IV. Finale. Allegro (08:42)

XLD log

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XLD extraction logfile from 2014-05-11 17:46:49 +0200

Utrecht String Quartet / Grechaninov: String Quartets opp. 2 & 70

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DR log

foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2017-01-21 22:09:19

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Utrecht String Quartet / Grechaninov – String quartets Nos. 1 & 2 – Utrecht String Quartet
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR14 -2.44 dB -21.18 dB 8:14 01-String Quartet No. 1 in G major, Op. 2 - I. Andante – Allegro non troppo
DR13 -6.63 dB -24.51 dB 7:22 02-String Quartet No. 1 in G major, Op. 2 - II. Andante
DR14 -0.04 dB -21.18 dB 6:18 03-String Quartet No. 1 in G major, Op. 2 - III. Scherzo. Presto
DR15 -2.59 dB -22.31 dB 7:55 04-String Quartet No. 1 in G major, Op. 2 - IV. Finale. Andante – Molto vivace e con brio
DR14 -3.00 dB -22.59 dB 7:14 05-String Quartet No. 2 in D minor, Op. 70 - I. Lento
DR14 -2.83 dB -22.11 dB 5:24 06-String Quartet No. 2 in D minor, Op. 70 - II. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
DR14 -4.59 dB -24.63 dB 7:26 07-String Quartet No. 2 in D minor, Op. 70 - III. Largo
DR15 -0.60 dB -20.62 dB 8:43 08-String Quartet No. 2 in D minor, Op. 70 - IV. Finale. Allegro
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 8
Official DR value: DR14

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 590 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================

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