COMPOSERS: Borodin
LABELS: Naxos
WORKS: String Quartet No. 1 in A; String Quartet No. 2 in D
PERFORMER: Haydn Quartet
CATALOGUE NO: 8.550850 DDD
Indifferent performances, hampered by unfocused, poorly balanced sound. The First Quartet, which seldom fails even in maladroit hands, is ploddingly lethargic here. This account takes wing only amid the mercurial harmonics of the Scherzo. The Second Quartet fares marginally better, despite inconsistencies of intonation and ensemble, with an occasional frisson of passion and vitality at large in the finale. Mediocre at best. Michael Jameson
Borodin: String Quartet No. 1 in A; String Quartet No. 2 in D
Indifferent performances, hampered by unfocused, poorly balanced sound. The First Quartet, which seldom fails even in maladroit hands, is ploddingly lethargic here. This account takes wing only amid the mercurial harmonics of the Scherzo. The Second Quartet fares marginally better, despite inconsistencies of intonation and ensemble, with an occasional frisson of passion and vitality at large in the finale. Mediocre at best. Michael Jameson
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:11 pm