COMPOSERS: Dvorak/Messiaen
LABELS: Naim
WORKS: String Quartet in D minor, Op. 34; Quatuor pour le fin du temps
PERFORMER: John Bruce Yeh (clarinet), Martin Beaver (violin), Marc Johnson (cello), Andrea Swan (piano); Vermeer Quartet
CATALOGUE NO: CD 008 DDD
A somewhat unlikely coupling of Dvorák and Messiaen; the cellist is the common player in live performances recorded (very closely) in a particularly resonant church. Dvorák’s charming Brahms-influenced D minor quartet is most musically played by the Vermeer with a warm and winning lightness of touch. The Messiaen fares less well; extraneous noises – squeaking chairs, sniffing, breathing, coughs – are seriously distracting without the compensation of a riveting performance. Annette Morreau
Dvorak/Messiaen
A somewhat unlikely coupling of Dvorák and Messiaen; the cellist is the common player in live performances recorded (very closely) in a particularly resonant church. Dvorák’s charming Brahms-influenced D minor quartet is most musically played by the Vermeer with a warm and winning lightness of touch. The Messiaen fares less well; extraneous noises – squeaking chairs, sniffing, breathing, coughs – are seriously distracting without the compensation of a riveting performance. Annette Morreau
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:11 pm