STRING QUINTET IN F MAJOR; INTERMEZZO IN D MINOR; RONDO IN C MINOR; STRING QUARTET IN C MINOR

This another fine cd from sony,here is another fine string quintet.To me the last 2 movements are better than the first 2.The string quintet is better than the string quartet here..

03-25-2014 For a modest cost, one can have THE chamber music of Anton Bruckner on one CD, as this one contains the Quartet and the Quintet for Strings by this 95% Symphonic composer, perhaps the best symphonist after Beethoven. I bought it several years ago, but never really learned it much until recently, and I am still learning it, as I write. An opening movement of nearly 14 minutes begins the String Quintet ihn F-Major, written between Dec. 1878 and July 1879. This great Symphonist wrote this work at the behest of Joseph Hellmesburger, the Director of the Vienna Conservatory, and the leader of the String Quartet that bore his name. ARTISTIC IMPRESSIONS I shall refrain from long and tedious analysis in this release, but I would say that it would be a mistake to hear these short works as "mini-symphonies, " although that is likely the prevailing huntch by most listeners. These string works are fine as is, and any composer would be proud to call them his own, particularly Schubert, Brahms, Beethoven or even Mahler. The performers are the Dutch based group L'Archibudelli, a group of string players who use period insgtruments, most of priceless quality and exquisite tone for their performances. These pieces were recorded in Raphael Kerk, in Amsterdam in early May of 1994. joining the usual 4-some, is the violist Guus Jeukendrup in the role of viola II. I usually prefer a quintet to contain a second cello, as in the great Autumnal Quintet in C-Major, D.958 by Schubert, but here, Bruckner has chosen the standard arrangement, perhaps to avoid too dark of a sound. I would of preferred the second cello in keeping with the composer's predominant deeper more visceral overall tone of the Symphonies, although they also frequently and routinely rise to higher pitched eloquence and eloquence is the core aim of these private creations, and I do not know if Bruckner ever heard them performed, I think he did for either the Quartet of the larger scaled Quintet. Outside of Austrian, I suppose they are minor works but any "Bruckner Festival" should include them just the same. They are well written and loaded with expressiveness, that I liked from the get-go. First up, is the Quintet in F Major from the year 1879, or after his Symphony #1 in c-minor, and before the so called Die Nulte #0 of 1869, hence an early work.

L' Archibudelli are known for "period-instrument" performances of Classical and Romantic works - i.e. gut strings, relatively light tone, not much vibrato. I have listened to some of their other recordings and find that while the sonority is easy to get used to, and helps the music's texture to be audible, I don't like the mannerisms of the group and the overall interpretation so much. Perhaps it has something to do with coming from a Baroque background, but the players seem to pay too much attention to little, supposedly "expressive" details which draw attention to themselves, while distracting from the overall line of the music. This is most noticeable in the Quintet's first and third movements - at some points the leader seems to be trying to shape each note individually, rather than letting them be parts of a larger whole. In Bruckner, melodic phrases last for several bars, so any attempt to interpret them as smaller units is ultimately rather tiring for the listener who has to piece them together again. This super-sensitive approach is encouraged by the slow tempos for these movements - the temptation is to "do something" to make all the long notes more "interesting". I also didn't like how the violins played some quiet passages with virtually no tone at all - at some points you strain to hear the melody! This does draw your attention, but only as a "special effect", not really serving the music. Good string players should be able to sustain a "singing" tone while playing even very quietly, what you get here is more like a breathy whisper. Conversely, in loud passages, there is very occasionally a feeling that they are trying to get too much out of the instruments and making a harsh sound (try near the beginning of the fourth movement).My biggest annoyance is the very audible and conspicuous sniffing that seems to have been orchestrated between several of the players, right at an emotional climax of the Quintet's slow movement. Needless to say, it does not persuade me of their emotional committment - only the sound coming from the instruments could do that. The moment is somewhat ruined by this addition of this nasal instrumentation, which is not marked in the score... You can also hear a sniffing "solo" from the 'cello about one minute into the first movement - apparently Bylsma is incapable of playing a syncopated theme without rhythmic assistance from his nostrils. We wouldn't accept musicians marking time by tapping their feet, why are string players' noses any different?On the plus side, the rhythm and tuning are very accurate, and the recording is technically very good; probably this is the second choice to get after a more straightforward interpretation, maybe the Brandis (on Nimbus) or Alberni (on CRD) quartets. Unfortunately good recordings of the Quintet are thin on the ground.The other pieces for quartet aren't really worth buying the disc for - they represent early Bruckner, at the time when he wasn't sure what sort of composer he wanted to be - good for musicologists to study, I suppose.

L’Archibudelli, einem Ensemble für historische Instrumente, dessen Name sich vom italienischen Wort für „Darmsaiten“ ableitet, vermeiden sie das übliche dicke Vibrato. Die langsamere Anschlagszeit und das reiche harmonische Spektrum der Darmsaiten (im Gegensatz zu den reaktionsschnelleren und brillanteren modernen Stahlkernsaiten) scheint besonders gut zu Bruckners Klangwelt zu passen. In der Tat klingt L’Archibudellis Version des Quintetts von allen, die ich bisher gehört habe, am „sinfonischsten“. Hinzu kommt eine exzellente Klangqualität der Aufnahme von 1994. Rundum sehr empfehlenswert!

Un CD sur des oeuvres de chambre d'Antoine Bruckner avec instruments d'époque. C'est une bonne interprétation d'une musique peu connue, sauf le Quintet. Par le Quintet, le disque vaut déjà la peine.