Search - Bohuslav Martinu, Martinu Quartet :: Martinu: String Quartets, Vol. 3 (Nos. 4, 5 & 7)

Major Twentieth Century String Quartets

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 06/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After living with the three-CD set of the seven Martinu string quartets, played by the eponymous Martinu String Quartet, I am prepared to insist that they are among the major quartets written in the twentieth century. And the three on this volume, the last in the series, show no let-down of quality. The 4th and 5th Quartets were written during Martinu's lengthy sojourn in Paris where he had gone to study with Albert Roussel. In them he includes Czech folk material (or material that is original with him but SOUNDS like Czech and Moravian folk tunes). And his language is a bit more angular than in the earlier quartets. The second movement of Quartet No. 4, a scherzo, is particularly attractive and has rhythmic elements of the Czech furiant as seen in a funhouse mirror; delightful. The Adagio of the 5th Quartet has a long, melancholy song in the first violin accompanied by almost-Bartókian pizzicati over mumbling trills in the cello. By the time Martinu got to his three-movement seventh and last quartet, ten years had gone by (it was now 1947 and he had moved to New York) and it is unlike any that went before. It is in a somewhat simplified, neo-classic language; the opening of the first movement almost sounds like it could have been written by Stravinsky, with some unexpected metric displacements. The middle Andante movement has a lyrical and mournful opening theme given by the first violin and later taken up contrapuntally by the viola and cello. There are some key-changes along the way that remind one of some of the more advanced procedures of Martinu's countryman, Leos Janácek. The Allegro final movement is a sparkling Haydnesque romp, an exuberant conclusion to a very attractive quartet.The performances by the Martinu String Quartet, as in the earlier issues, are idiomatic, clean, graceful - in word, they're superb. I spent a lovely Saturday afternoon recently listening to all seven quartets in sequence; what a joy!Thank you again, Naxos, for making these performances available.Review by Scott Morrison"

The best of an excellent series

G.D. | Norway | 12/06/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This disc completes the Martinu quartets very fine series of the string quartets of Bohuslav Martinu with the fourth, fifth and seventh quartets. And if you haven't already acquired any of the releases, this is the place to start. The Martinu quartet plays just as excellently as on the previous releases, sure-footed readings with lots of vigor and colors, but these are also the best works in the series. The lyrical, almost pastoral fourth is enjoyable from start to finish, but the fifth is probably the best of the best here (it is also the longest). A stirring, gripping and at times tormented piece which is, at 30 minutes, still closely argued (at least for the composer). The seventh is a playful neo-classical work typical of the later Martinu. Sound is, as on the previous issues, excellent. Strongly recommended."