The Central European influences on Dvorak’s work are usually cited as Wagner (in the early symphonies and the New World) and Brahms (in certain chamber works and the Seventh Symphony), but here the closing movement of the Seventh String Quartet positively cries ‘Schubert’, specifically the late G major Quartet. The wildly motorized accompaniments are unmistakably derivative, though the principal theme was clearly born on Czech soil. Oddly, the Quartet’s very opening sounds more Russian than Czech, though its ensuing development is a good deal tighter than in the corresponding movement of Op. 9. The A minor’s Andante cantabile has the feel of a polka, with hints (a little later) at the Hussite theme that both Dvorak and Smetana used elsewhere (Hussite Overture and Ma vlast) and the odd premonition of the E minor string Serenade, which Dvorak completed the following year.
The Vlach Quartet Prague (formerly the New Vlach Quartet) plays with great gusto, though I sensed just a touch of rhythmic ambiguity at the start of the third movement. The F minor Quartet is rather more discursive though equally characteristic. As early as 1'00'' into the first movement, a linking idea breezes in that Dvorak later re-deployed for his String Quintet, B180, and the second movement’s lovely outer sections were later used as the principal theme of the Romance for violin and orchestra. Here, the same melody is trailed by perfunctory melodrama, whereas the solo piece has an unforgettably poignant centre.
Fascinating music, then, overflowing with attractive ideas, few of which mature or blossom in the way that Dvorak’s later themes do. But, as with the Third and Fourth Symphonies (which were composed at around the same time), the journey is well worth making, the material is often charm itself and the Vlach’s performances are generally excellent. Of course the ludicrously low price point makes purchase more or less mandatory for all inquisitive Dvorakians.'