Dvorák: String Quartet Op. 106; Coleridge-Taylor: Fantasiestücke

by Takacs String Quartet

Overview

The Takacs Quartet has been remarkably consistent, and the addition of a couple of new members doesn't seem to have affected the group's track record at all. Consider this release, which made classical best-seller lists in the summer of 2023. It is splendid. One attraction is the set of Fantasiestuecke by Samuel-Coleridge Taylor. He has been showing up more frequently on concert programs and recordings, but these are novel, with just two recordings on small independent labels in the catalog ahead of this one. Coleridge-Taylor was still a student at the Royal College of Music when he wrote these short pieces for string quartet, but they clearly showed what was coming. Not only was he able to produce a decent facsimile of Dvorak's style (sample the Dance finale), but in the second-movement Serenade, he picked up the unusual 5/4 time of the second movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, and put his own spin on it. The main attraction is Dvorak's String Quartet in G major, Op. 106, is even better, with many subtle details in the phrasing married to deep expression. Sample the Adagio ma non troppo slow movement, which has rarely seemed so profound; the opening melody rises to the level of Beethoven's late quartets here. There is a short early quartet movement to ring down the curtain and superb, idiomatic sound from the Wyastone Estate Concert Hall. This is certain to be counted as one of the top chamber music recordings of 2023. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	07/07/2023
Label:	Hyperion
UPC:	0034571284132
Rank:	31621

Tracks

1. 5 Fantasiestücke Op. 5~Prelude: Allegro ma non troppo
2. 5 Fantasiestücke Op. 5~Serenade: Andante molto
3. 5 Fantasiestücke Op. 5~Humoresque: Presto
4. 5 Fantasiestücke Op. 5~Minuet and Trio: Allegro moderato
5. 5 Fantasiestücke Op. 5~Dance: Vivace
6. String Quartet in G major, Op. 106~Allegro moderato
7. String Quartet in G major, Op. 106~Adagio ma non troppo
8. String Quartet in G major, Op. 106~Molto vivace
9. String Quartet in G major, Op. 106~Finale: Andante sostenuto - Allegro con fuoco
10. String Quartet in A minor, Op. 12 (B40), original version~Andante appassionato B40a

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Takacs String Quartet   Primary Artist,String Quartet

Technical Credits

Antonin Dvorak   Composer
Viola Scheffel   Liner Note Translation
Andrew Keener   Recording Producer
William Henry Holmes   Cover Illustration
Simon Perry   Executive Producer
Amanda Tipton   Photography
Marie-Stella Paris   Liner Note Translation
Misha Donat   Liner Notes
David Hinitt   Engineer
Todd Harris   Booklet Editor
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor   Composer