Search - Schubert; Beethoven; Bartok; Schumann; Glazunov; Dvorak; Haydn, Hungarian String Quartet-Zoltan Szekely :: The Hungarian String Quartet and Zoltan Szekely (Historical Recordings and Previously Unissued Public Performances, 1937-1968)

A Long-kept Secret

Allan Evans | 05/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One always wondered if the Hungarian Quartet's studio work actually represented their true artistry. Now with this unexpected set from Music & Arts, one hears a different group, expanding any previous boundaries. Their unity and freedom, lack of inhibition paired with a structural wisdom make for wonders. I find their depth and immediacy surpassing the Budapest, Busch, Vegh, and many others. The sound is so excellent on these concert performances. A real treasure for the music and performance. May one hope for more?"

Middle Beethoven and late Bartók for the desert island

Anton Zimmerling | Moscow, Russia | 01/10/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Historic releases of famous quartet ensembles of the past are mainly due to two reasons - they either a) represent certain aspects of the string playing that are no longer heard by present-day ensembles (cf., e.g. the Rockport series of the Léner Quartet for a maximum of vibrato, downward and upward portamentos The Lener String Quartet Vol.1: The Haydn Recordings, 1924-35), or b) preserve outstanding performances that have influenced later approaches - cf. the constantly reissued Busch quartet Beethoven series The Busch Quartet Play Beethoven, Vol. 3. Certainly, the best quartets of the past are appealing *both* on technical and musical reasons, but I guess in each case one can find the main point of interest - either the quartet sound or the interpretation. The Hungarian quartet surely classifies with the second group. In ca. 1945-1968 this ensemble belonged to the world's best, though never gained the popularity of some of their rivals: it had to concur with the Budapest, the Amadeus, the Juilliard Quartets, Quartetto Italiano and with other remarkable groups, as the Hollywood, the Griller, the Végh and the Smetana Quartets.



This set contains selected studio and live recordings of the Hungarian Quartet made between 1946 and 1968 in the USA and Europe and early solo recordings of their primarius, Zoltán Székely, made ca. 1937-1942. The marvels of this 9 CD-box set are two recordings of Beethoven's Razumovsky's quartets No. 7 in F, Op. 59/1 (rec. live Budapest 1968 - CD 5) and No. 9 in C, Op. 59/3 (live Menton 1961 - CD 3), Bartók's 5th and 6th quartets (live Menton 1961 - CD 4) and the earlier version of Haydn's `Lark' quartet Op. 64/5 (London studio 1946 - CD 5). Certainly, all these masterpieces can be performed differently, but I feel that they could not be played better and more sensible: the tempos in the first two movements of Beethoven's Op.59/1 are broad without being slack, and the subsequent F minor Adagio molto e mesto is somber and intense rather than sentimental and self-pitying (as it could be in the hands of lesser musicians). The entrance of Bartók's 6th seems a tad underplayed at first, but towards the end of the quartet the listeners realize it is done deliberately, in contrast with the desolate final Mesto.



As with the Busch quartet, the Hungarian Quartet had a great violinist at the first pult - Zoltán Székely (1903-2001), a man who premiered Bartók's B minor violin concerto in 1939. It is nice to get his solo recordings in this M & A set. Székely's invididual touch and technical command are best heard in the 1942 transcription of Lalo's `Guitarre' (CD 7), but his recordings of Porpora's sonata in G (CD 6) and Glazounov's violin concerto (CD 7) deserve hearing too. What is even more important, the presence of this great violinst is always felt in the ensemble - both in the solo passages (as in the spiccato of the first violin in the final movement of the `Lark' quartet) and in the overall approach to music-making. The taste of Székely and his colleagues was severe and adverse to romantic clichés: they produced a sharp, at times brittle sound and were devoid of narcissistic self-admiration, typical for some modern groups. Maybe it was one of the reasons why record producers and the public of 1950-1960s preferred ensembles with a more smooth and creamy sound.



It is worth mentioning that in spite of the fact the Hungarian Quartet is captured in this box set in 4 (!) different settings - a) Székely, Moszkowsky, Koromzay, Palotai; b) Székely, Moszkowsky, Koromzay, Madyar; Székely, c) Moszkowsky, Halleux, Palotai; d) Székely, Kuttner, Koromzay, Madyar - their interpretations are uniform. This uniformity is likely due to Székely's guidance, though all other players were remarkable too: Laurent Halleux, for instance, is well-known as the member of the original Pro Arte quartet.



In order to be fair, I'll mention the items where Székely's & Co's approach is less successful: their Beethoven Op. 131 (CD 3) would not be my first choice, and I would not return to this set for their Mozart D minor Quartet K. 417b. Harris Goldsmith who supplied fine notes to this Music & Arts set tells a story how the EMI's Walter Legge interfered during the recording session and tried to teach the Hungarians how they should perform Mozart, but Székely, in his own words, rejected the advice of a dilettante. I don't want to follow Legge's footsteps and advise great musicians how one should tackle quartet music, but I would rather turn to alternative recordings, for example, to the excellent Griller quartet performance of Mozart D minor Quartet, now available on the Dutton label in a sonically superior transfer .Griller Quartet Plays Mozart & Haydn



The Hungarians' Bartók is idiomatic, though completely different from the Végh's Bartók (BTW, Sandor Végh was the first primarius of the Hungarian Quartet, but had to step down when Székely appeared; later he left the group and founded his own quartet, justly famous for its Bartók and Beethoven sets). On the contrary, the Hungarians' Tchaikovsky, Glazounov and Dvoøák are not idiomatic and sound unusual. This adds a fresh flavour to their Glazounov's Novelettes and Tchaikovsky's D major Quartet (CDs 7-8), but their Dvoøák is strange: they lose the nerve of the American Quartet, Op. 96 and downplay its romantic rhythmical pulses.



The principles of compiling the material on the reviewed box set are controversial, since Music & Arts producers divided the pieces recorded live during the same day and placed them on different CDs: Beethoven and Haydn's quartets are not placed together either. It is nice to have the interviews of Székely and his colleagues, but the text of these interviews is again divided into short files used as fillers or bonus tracks to the main program on different CDs.



These minor drawbacks do not undervalue the merits of this great box-set. The sound if for the most past OK, given the age and recording conditions. Glazounov's concerto (CD 8) dates back with ca. 1942 and is in poor sound, as is Haydn quartet in C, Op. 74/1 on CD 1. The box set includes a thorough and very informative essay of the critic Harris Goldsmith.



Warmly recommendable for all those who love chamber music. If you are tolerant to the sound quality or specially interested in historic releases, this is a five-star item on your scale. I support the recommendations of the fellow reviewers above. However, I wished to put the reviewed recordings in the same context with more recent and sonically superior versions, therefore I am rating this box set with four stars.



Interpretation: ranging from **** to *****+. Sound quality: ranging from *** to ****.

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