Volume 28 Issue 4 | February - March 2023

studying with Ravel in Paris; his String Quartet No.1 in G Minor
from 1909 showed a resulting greater textual clarity, although it
remained unpublished until a revised version appeared in 1922. The
viola, Vaughan Williams’ own instrument, is prominent in the String
Quartet No.2 in A Minor from 1942-43; the work is dedicated to Jean
Stewart, violist in the Menges Quartet that gave the first performance
in 1944. The beautiful Romance second movement, in particular, is
Vaughan Williams at his most characteristic.
Holst wrote his Phantasy Quartet on British Folksongs Op.36 in
1916, but eventually withdrew it, feeling it to be “insufficient.” His
daughter Imogen published a string orchestra version some years after
his death. The viola is again prominent in this charming quartet
edition by Roderick Swanston.
There’s more Vaughan Williams on Boyle,
Moeran, Ireland, Vaughan Williams, his
Household Music – Three Preludes on Welsh
Hymn Tunes from 1940-41 opening the
new CD from the Piatti Quartet (Rubicon
RCD1098 rubiconclassics.com/release/
piatti-quartet-boyle-vaughan-williamsmoeran-ireland).
The main work here though is the
premiere recording of the lovely String Quartet in E Minor from 1934
by the unjustly neglected Irish composer Ina Boyle (1889-1967), who,
apart from travelling to London for lessons with Vaughan Williams,
from 1923 spent virtually her entire life in the family home in County
Wicklow. This attractive work remained in manuscript until a new
performing edition was made in 2011.
John Ireland’s brief The Holy Boy is his 1941 arrangement of a 1913
piano solo. The disc ends with E.J. Moeran’s undated two-movement
String Quartet No.2 in E-flat Major, discovered in his papers after his
death in 1950. The Novello edition felt it to be “clearly an early work,”
but while the first movement may support this view the Irish folksong
nature of the second movement suggests a strong post-war influence
of the songs he collected in County Kerry, some of which he
published in 1948.
On Beethoven Shostakovich Schubert
String Quartets the four Russian musicians
of the David Oistrakh Quartet,
all soloists in their own right, “embrace
the fury of these three works” with
full-blooded playing (Praga Digitals
PRD250426 prestomusic.com/classical/
products/9408438--beethoven-schubertshostakovich-string-quartets).
Beethoven’s String Quartet No.4 in C Minor, Op.18, if a little rushed
at times, certainly shows passion, which works particularly well in the
Allegro prestissimo fourth movement.
Shostakovich’s String Quartet No.3 in F Major, Op.73 from 1946,
is the heart of the disc, both physically and emotionally. It became
known as his “war quartet” after the composer renamed the movements
in the manner of a war story to avoid being accused of
“formalism” or “elitism.” Blythe ignorance of the future cataclysm,
Rumblings of unrest and anticipation, Forces of war unleashed, In
memory of the dead and The eternal question: why? and wherefore?
give a clear indication of the music‘s soundscape.
Schubert’s String Quartet No.12 in C Minor, D703 “Quartettsatz”
from 1820 is the brief first movement from an unfinished quartet. The
final track, not mentioned in the booklet notes, is the quartet’s violist
Fedor Belugin’s dazzling arrangement of Paganini’s Caprice Op.1
No.24 in A Minor.
On Beautiful Passing the title track is the
single-movement violin concerto written
by the American composer Steven Mackey
in 2008 and inspired by the death of his
mother. Anthony Marwood is the soloist,
with David Robertson conducting the
Sydney Symphony Orchestra (Canary
Classics CC-22 canaryclassics.com).
Consisting of two halves separated by
a cadenza, it’s a tough, uncompromising work that has passages of
real beauty above and amid the sometimes-brutal orchestral texture,
with a demanding and finely woven violin line brilliantly played
by Marwood. It’s a work that invites and will surely reward further
listening.
The remainder of the CD consists of Mackey’s Mnemosyne’s Pool
from 2014, a five-movement symphonic saga dealing with aspects of
remembering, Mnemosyne being the Greek goddess of memory.
Described by Musical America as “the first great American symphony
of the 21st century” it’s a hugely impressive orchestral canvas that
receives an outstanding performance.
Mieczysław Weinberg Complete Works for
Violin and Piano, Volume Four completes
the series of music by the Polish-born Soviet
composer and close friend of Shostakovich
that began in September 2010. Yuri Kalnits
is the excellent violinist and Michael Csányi-
Wills the equally fine pianist (Toccata TOCC
0188 toccataclassics.com).
This final release covers music from
Weinberg’s teenage years – the Three Pieces from 1934-35 – to the
1959 Sonata for Two Violins Op.69, in which Kalnits is joined by
What we're listening to this month:
thewholenote.com/listening
Vagues et ombres
collectif9
Juno-nominated string nonet
collectif9 creates a world of
nuance with music of Debussy
(including his iconic La Mer) and
Luna Pearl Woolf.
Portrait: Alex Baranowski
Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà
Several key works including
three previously unreleased
pieces - wonderfully expressive,
sensitive writing for violin. The 6th
album in her series dedicated to
contemporary composers.
Nagamo
Andrew Balfour & musica intima
Ground-breaking collaboration
with composer & curator of Cree
descent, Andrew Balfour, reshapes
Elizabethan masterworks with
Ojibway and Cree perspectives.
Tu me voyais
Christina Haldane
Tu me voyais is anchored around
Gionet’s new arrangements of
“Twelve Acadian Folk Songs”,
tailored for Haldane’s voice, and
evolves the songs of Acadie.
50 | February & March, 2023 thewholenote.com