Search - Mieczyslaw Weinberg, Dominant Quartet :: Vainberg: String Quartets Nos. 7, 8 and 9

An essential followup of Vainberg's chamber works.

David A. Hollingsworth | Washington, DC USA | 03/04/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Olympia continues with its priceless series of Vainberg's works, this time with his Seventh, Eighth, & Ninth String Quartets (Volume XVII). So far, Vainberg's First, Tenth, Twelfth, and Seventeenth Quartets (and other chamber works such as his String Quintet and the Trio for piano, cello, and violin) have been recorded and are currently available. Admirably, Olympia has managed not to delete any of the volumes of Vainberg's works, perhaps as a testament of immense admiration Vainberg richly deserves.The more I listened to Vainberg, the more I wonder why he's still an enigma whether in concert halls or in recitals (or even in theatrical stages, for Vainberg had composed ballets and operas). His music, though in places inconsistent as far as thematic invention is concerned and sometimes too much under the shadows of Shostakovich, still managed to come off with depth and integrity. There's hardly anything shallow even in his smaller pieces (take the 17 easy pieces for piano for instance).The String Quartets in this current volume are good cases in point. What's interesting about them was that Vainberg's experiment with atonality in the spirit of Bartok withered considerably and in general much of the writing are meditative and intropective (and generally with greater clarity). What also withered, at least for now, is the Shostakovichian mannerism and style, making his music more personal than probably anticipated. The Seventh Quartet (1957) comes off well, with the adagio first movement soulful and haunting before the jokingly, lively allegretto second movement takes over. The last movement somewhat combine the spirits of the previous two rather effectively, with the adagio beginning again soulful yet simplistic become the quasi-lively allego takes over. To my mind, the Eighth Quartet (1959) is the most impressive. Cast in one movement, there are clearly four tempo changes within and Olympia did the right thing in assign them with track numbers as access points (track four with slow tempi: Adagio-Poco andante, track five with faster, allegretto-allegro sections). Again the slow, moderate slow tempi is soulful and meditative, but the faster tempi is exhilarant, with the pizzicato adding appeals to the overall design. The Ninth Quartet (1963) starts off aggresively, surprisingly in a manner of Nielsen while the pizzicato-proned allegretto has the quiet, subdued gaity. The andante third movement is the most profound and impressive I think, with the mood elegiac and perhaps contemplative only to be interrupted occasionally by dramtic climaxes. This is really deep and moving stuff, something his contemporaries (Shostakovich, Kabalevsky, Walton) would surely admire. The finale (allegro moderato), starts off subtlely, Nielsenian in manner before the gay, virtuosic spirit of Shostakovich is evoked. The newly-formed Dominant Quartet played the works admirably, not underpinning their substance while avoiding some over-indulgences. If you think the Gothenburg Quartet (in Vainberg's Quartets #1, 10, & 17-Volume XI) came up huge in their survey, the Dominant Quartet measured to it in every way, perhaps with a marginally superior sense of control and articulation. Lately, it seems that chamber ensembles are taking up their interests in Vainberg's chamber music, which is a blessing. Unfortunately, much of the same cannot be said of orchestral ensembles. With the exception of Vainberg's Second Symphony, his orchestral works continue to take the back seat of oblivion. Hopefully, Olympia will continue to cherish their releases of Vainberg's music while promoting future recordings of them. Believe it or not, Vainberg is (to my estimation at least) a major twentieth century composer, quite in the league of Shostakovich, Bartok, Walton, Honegger and the Dominant Quartet admirably shows us why. So far, this Olympia series is the most enterprising and pioneering since Chandos' work on the music of Sir Arnold Bax. Exemplary!
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