Search - Anton Bruckner, Vienna String Quartet, Vienna String Quintet :: Bruckner: String Quintet In F/Intermezzo In D

Probably The Most Persuasive CD Version

Jeffrey Lipscomb | Sacramento, CA United States | 05/16/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As what you might call a Compulsive Brucknerian, I have collected 16 versions of Bruckner's String Quintet over the past 30+ years. Obviously this way lies madness, so I have decided to "lighten up," in more ways than one, and un-load all but FOUR of them. This decision was occasioned by the realization that 1) it's time for spring cleaning, 2) I need to make room for future CD purchases, and 3) after reading excellent submissions by other Amazon reviewers - Scott Morrison's widely diverse and well-written critiques in particular - I feel a need to get out of my Bruckner "rut" and get acquainted with a broader range of works (right now, I'm exploring composers like Kurt Atterberg and Selim Palmgren).



So here are the fruits of my many listenings to this wonderful Bruckner work. If you are not familiar with it, let me say that you won't find here the economy of expression and tightly-argued writing of earlier chamber masters like Mozart, Beethoven, or Schubert. Bruckner was a 19th Century romantic, and for that school chamber music was not a primary means of communication. Several of the greatest romantic composers - Berlioz, Wagner and Liszt - wrote no chamber music at all. Brahms & Dvorak both composed superb chamber works, but that's because they shared a strong orientation in earlier classical forms.



Bruckner's Quintet, on the other hand, is really a symphony in chamber music garb. There are times when you almost expect the brass to come crashing in, but it's not to be. The music abounds in the large blocks of harmonies, chromatic modulations, and the gigantic, majestic crescendos that make his symphonies so distinctive. Harmonically, I think it wavers between the sound worlds of Schubert and Wagner. If most chamber works are like charcoal etchings, Bruckner's Quintet has masses of sound that are more like a large canvas in oil. It's a unique work, and it came from fairly late in Bruckner's career (it was written between the 5th & 6th symphonies). The Intermezzo, with which the Quintet is usually paired on recordings, is an alternate movement for the Quintet. Bruckner wrote it at the beseeching of the work's first players, who found the original second mvt. too hard to play. It's one of Bruckner's most enchanting works, with tender melody and rich harmonies. I find it impossible to choose between it and the original scherzo - both are wonderful.



This Camerata CD with the Vienna Quintet is beautifully recorded and gorgeously played: it's the ONE CD account that I'll be keeping. Here is how the various remaining versions line up in my affections:



1. Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet with Ferdinand Stangler, second viola. This was once on a Vanguard LP, and hopefully it will re-appear as a CD. This string quartet was formed in 1934 and featured Anton Kamper, 1st violin; Karl Maria Titze, second violin; Erich Weiss, viola; and Franz Kvarda, cello. All were players in the Vienna Philharmonic under Furtwangler, and their musical aesthetic was similar to his. Their LP records fetch ridiculous prices in the collector's market (especially their uniquely lyrical Schubert offerings). This and the Koeckert version are the TWO I would keep if the desert island beckoned.



2. Koeckert Quartet (with George Schmid), formerly on Decca LP and hopefully a candidate for re-issue by DG. All of the players were principals in the Bavarian Radio Symphony under Eugen Jochum, and no doubt their playing in so many Bruckner symphonies under Jochum contributed to their eloquent interpretation of the Quintet (by itself - no Intermezzo).



3. This Camerata CD with the Vienna Quintet, all of whom are players in the Vienna Philharmonic. Their performance is very idiomatic and very Austrian.



4. Philharmonic String Quintet, Vienna. This was the work's first recorded performance (there is no Intermezzo) and probably hails from the 1930's. It was once on a 1950 Polydor Vox LP and features far more string portamento than any other version. It's poorly recorded, rather slow, and not as well played as my first three choices.



5. Keller Quartet (with Georg Schmid). Actually this contains just the Intermezzo (no Quintet). It's a dry and un-inspired reading - I only keep it because of the coupling: Bruckner's earlier (1862) String Quartet in C Minor (in truth, it's little more than an exercise and not very rewarding).



All music lovers who fancy chamber music and/or Bruckner really ought to have a version of Bruckner's remarkable String Quintet. This Camerata CD account strikes me as the best of the current lot. If the Konzerthaus and Koeckert versions ever make it to CD, I think you will find them even more satisfying, despite their mono sound.



Highly recommended."