Listening Project

Bazza, your statement that the Koppel's Piano Quintet is "on a similar level to the Shostakovich" and the subsequent question "did anyone ever write a bad piano quintet?" deserve a separate post.

The Piano Quintet medium is a very difficult one for a composer to succeed. In the three different forms (Piano & winds, Piano & String Quartet and Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello and Double Bass) it has been formulated, there are more than hundred known works. Out of them, only a handful of them managed to get an established recognition from both or either performers/producers/musicians or the public (Brahms and Franck's supreme ones both in f minor, Schumann's in E flat, Schubert's Trout, Dvorak's Second in A, Faure's both and Shostakovich's magnificent example of 20th century work, in g minor).

Some other superb Quintets, like the impressive work of Taneyev (in g minor too) failed to make it or the very intriguing one of Weinberg's (in f minor too).

Then, there are some hundred of works in this medium from various composers from the late 18th century to date that I wouldn't be that bad to call them (or some of them) "bad", but, definitely, they have failed to gain some recognition. Most of them have fallen into oblivion, or been neglected, almost never performed or recorded. The fact is that there are quite a few failed works, that will probably never "recover" from the current status (e.g. Wuorinen, Turina, Sorabji, Medtner, Respighi, Pfitzner, Amy Beach, Thuille, Spohr, Saint-Saens, Onslow, Cramer and more). So, to claim that Koppel's Quintet is "on a level to Shostakovich" (something cannot be said even for the great work of Taneyev) is at least an impressive overstatement.

It is not surprising that most of the great composers avoided this medium or simply tried up to two works (like Dvorak or Faure of the successful cases). The only one who wrote a dozen of them, but as a sort of divertimento and not full-fledged Quintets, was Boccherini, at the dawn of the formation of this sub-genre of Chamber Music.

Parla

Thanks Bazza for the information.  The Chailly recording is now only available as a download: I've downloaded it and will have a listen when the family is out, and the sofa in position!

Chris

Chris, I'm a bit surprised for your deep interest in Schnittke's music. Definitely, he had talent, charisma and inspiration, but the...outcome?.. He has failed to impress, fascinate, conquer or even make me feel interested in any of his works I know. Most of the time, he sounds as a second or even third rate Shostakovich, or someone who got some inspiration from the last Russian master and, then, he went either astray or got lost...

I have the BIS box of the "10 Symphonies". It constituted an ordeal to listen even half of them. I have the set of his Quartets with both Kronos and the more recent and very refined recording of the Molinari Quartet (on the Canadian Atma). Fortunately, the latter gave some finesse and a sort of beauty to the Quartets compare to the over the top readings of Kronos. However, the works sound again as second class Shostakovich or works with not so proper narrative and convincing resolution.

His Viola Concerto, thanks to the great Russian violist Juri Bashmet, is a worthy addition to the rather meagre repertory of concertos for this overshadowed instrument. His Cello and Piano Concerti are less successful, but listenable (the superb Natalia Gutman served so well his Cello Concerti).

In the Choral field, his Requiem is a strong contender in the rather few good Requiems of the 20th century. However, very bleak and dark in portraying the mystery (if not the glory) of death. His Concerto for Choir is also an intriguing and idiomatic work, well and impressively written for the human voices (there is a very fine recording on Praga with both works).

It's interesting to note that a very fascinating, inspired (and inspiring), very talented composer of Russia remains almost neglected and underrated, namely the very fine Rodion Shchedrin. Most of his works are at least so nice to listen to, without resorting to the limits of the tolerance of our mental or emotional capacity. His orchestrations are so captivating and well crafted (see what he managed to do with The Carmen Ballet: a Carmen without brass and winds, flowing smoothly and impressively with an amazing use of the strings and a huge set of percussion). Try his choral masterwork The Sealed Angel, a sublime expressive work that can touch the hearts and minds of many listeners who really appreciate refine and exquisite writing...in the 20th century.

Parla

Thanks Parla for your usual thorough post!  

I must begin though by correcting you. I can't claim to have a 'deep interest' in Schnittke's music based on what little I know of it! The 4th quartet (as played by the ABQ) has certainly made a deep impression.  After several hearings I do find it a magnificent, profound work, and worthy successor of Shostakovich. Not an imitator though; Schnittke's work is much richer harmonically than Shostakovich's style and shares some of its harmonic character more with Messiaen (interesting that Brumas agrees on that!).

Perhaps I've been lucky that the other works of Schnittke that I have heard are considered to be amongst his finest; the Requiem (which I heard in a fine performance at the Proms as long ago as 1990) and the Viola Concerto (which I've heard in London with Bashmet). It makes me realise that luck plays quite a part in our initial attitude to and subsequent willingness to investigate a 'new' composer. Anyway, time for some further investigation for me, beginning with the 5th symphony, which does sound interesting at the first hearing (see my previous post) though worlds away from the quartet. After that I may in due course be able to give my own balanced assessment of his music, but not yet.

The other thing that listening to this (for me) new work has shown me is the importance of the performance.  It was my ABQ recording that 'knocked me over'.  Other members have been impressed too hearing the work in the Kronos recording (on YouTube) but I must say I find the ABQ very much more impressive. I suspect that we have to judge many new works from only partially adequate performances. I'm reminded of a comment of Klemperer many years ago. He said something like this: "I often hear a modern work performed admirably as it seems to me. Then I hear the same conductor performing a great symphony from the standard repertory dismally. How can this be explained.  I conclude that the performance of the modern work was probably equally inadequate".  May not always be the case but I suspect it does have some truth.  Not when the performers are the ABQ, or the Concertgebouw with Chailly though!

Finally Parla, in your last paragraph you came within a whisker of naming a piece for this thread!  Now you really are less than a centimetre away from actually suggesting the Shchedrin piece. Go on! Do it! It doesn't hurt.

Chris

Parla,

You are the main reason I stopped reading and contributing to the forum. Just popped in torday to see if things had got better, and (fat chance) in the hope that you had left. I see that you haven't, so I will go back to ignoring the forum and just reading the news, blogs and articles on the main page.

I suppose it's too much to expect that either of you tried listening to any of the works suggested for discussion on this thread?

In the meantime, any other comments on the Schnittke Quartet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ensIi8GYxOo

Chris

OK, Jane, at least you did try it!  Perhaps you will prefer the Cavalli, coming up next, and then Nino Rota!

Chris