Search - Ernst Toch :: Ernst Toch: String Quartets

Viennese charm from a young Toch

Evan Wilson | Cambridge, Massachusetts United States | 11/15/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ernst Toch taught himself music by copying out the string quartets of Mozart and then substituting his own development sections for those of the master. Predictably, his efforts paled before what Mozart had done, but the exercise awakened a lifelong appreciation of the focus and clarity possible in the medium. It also taught him the merits of classicism which infused his life's work. These two quartets are among the earliest surviving examples of Toch's fascination with this genre--and what charmers they are!! Although Toch's music was to grow increasingly chromatic as time passed, these two pieces (written in the first decade of the 20th century) fit comfortably into the middle- to late-Romantic era. Both have a great melodic appeal based in lyrical melodies floating amid light and graceful textures. There is nothing heavy in either of these pieces which may not shake the world but revel in the pleasures of musicmaking. Try either of these pieces after a hard day at work--I think they'll do wonders for your mood.The Braude Quartet plays these pieces with a laid-back charm which doesn't try to expand them into something they're not. There is a slightly edgy quality to their sound which distracts a little bit from the coziness of the music, but is not a major detriment. (Perhaps a little touch on the equalizer will tame it.)In any case, if you like Schubert, you'll like this. It's another piece in the puzzle of one of the better, if lesser-known, composers of the 20th century. Maybe Classic recordings can be convinced to have these musicians give us more of Toch's quartets."