Search - Max Reger, Bern String Quartet :: Reger: Complete String Quartets

AN UNPARALLED REGER BARGAIN

Melvyn M. Sobel | Freeport (Long Island), New York | 08/17/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Doubtless, Reger is a tough nut to crack.



Frankly, I doubt he's had a very strong hold on anybody's imagination for very long: He can appear ornery, thorny, brutish, thick, inaccessible. And, indeed, not only in appearance; however, as in some of his marvelously autobiographical piano music (e.g. "From My Diary," Op. 82), chamber (e.g. Clarinet Quintet, Op. 146) and symphonic works (e.g. Suite In the Olden Style, Op. 93 or the Romantic Suite, Op. 125), we see an obviously vulnerable composer shedding and surrendering his "veneer" to become more approachable. But don't blink! He's just as apt to turn around and wall himself up.



In Reger's quartet output, the man displays all his sides, his weaknesses, his strengths. At times, he is downright lovable; at others, an irascible codger. But the journey through his quartets is worth the effort, regardless.



The early Quartet in D already portends "the Reger to come." Its opening Allegro Energico and quizzical Finale ("Aufschwung") have all the hallmarks of a quirky composer who knew who he was. [This sounds very much like another composer whose String Quartets, Op. 18 established a firm personna early on and rather turned the musical establishment on its ear. Now... what was his name... Ludwig van... something.]



Both Op. 54 (No.'s 1 and 2) seem to find a Reger more at ease, less tense, although there are moments (as in the opening Allegro Assai E Bizarro of Op. 54, No.2) where he fits and starts; but, then, the lovely Largo Mesto (Op. 54, No. 1) and Andante Semplice Con Variazoni (Op. 54, No. 2) complement nicely.



Op. 74 is a curious work longing for a place to stabilize, an interesting work caught on the horns of an on-going "agitato" and a partially sustained "andante." This manic/depressive nature, one that manifests itself in Reger's music, is a compelling facet.



With Op. 109, we come to a more brooding composer, deep in thought, dense in compositional style. Even here, the Larghetto brings no real relief. One of Reger's more "homogenous" works, it can become a tad daunting to sit through. Reger, never one to be a rampant melodist, seems to try his hardest here to keep all lyricism subservient to technique. And so, for me, this seems the weaker quartet for it.



The Op. 121 pulls out all the stops. We are in uncharted territory here. Reger teases us with an "expressive" opening Allegro that, well, really isn't, pokes at us with a Vivace that harbors a gallows humor, allows us brief solace with a most affecting Adagio and, then, concludes by rattling us with a death-defying Allegro Con Spirito of amazing proportions.



To say that Reger's quartets are complex would be putting it mildly. This is not the kind of chamber music one listens to for the sheer beauty of it. This is not Reger's style; actually, he eschews the outright display of obligatory lyricism. If one is to appreciate Reger's musical "world," and especially these quartets, patience and immersion are essential. After repeated hearings, the composer becomes "clear."



The Bern String Quartet are faithful (and intrepid) interpretative performers of Reger. They are one of the few groups I've ever heard who can bring the beauties of Reger to the fore and subvert the tedious to the listenable, hardly a task unworthy of kudos. The sound given the group is warm, but detailed, and aids in clarifying the Reger "thickness."



[Running time--- CD 1: 73:32 CD 2: 53:15 CD 3: 74:17]"

I like all of Reger

karel d'huyvetters | Leuven, Belgium | 03/22/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I had never heard Reger's quartets. I listened to some samples, and it just confirms my appreciation of Reger: he is wonderful, never boring, always surprising, a master of his craft. I have yet to be disappointed with anything he wrote. Why he remains a hidden gem, I can't fathom. Can't compare with other performers, but what we have here sounds very professional, intimate when needed, boisterous when required. This is a real find for me, especially because of the collection of all the quartets: a mother lode!"

Fundamental chamber works!

Hiram Gomez Pardo | Valencia, Venezuela | 08/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It would be a theme of unfinished duration to place Max Reger in a specific category: Is he the heir of the later expression of the dying Romanticism musical or rather is a pioneer on the threshold of a new renaissance of the musical forms?. It's a difficult matter because precisely, he lived in that transient flow. So, these string quartets constitute possibly the most efficacious evidences of his gradual evolution.

Reger adopted undeniable influences of Bach inn his piano and organ compositions, but looked through Beethoven and Brahms in his extended chamber works.

His Quartet in D minor without specific Opus (1888) reveals as any other else, his profound admiration by L.v.B. It is a cohesive piece although Max is still far from domain this genre.

His Quartet Op. 54 No. 1 is signed by Johannes Brahms with the exception of the Largo mesto.

The Quartet Op. 54 No. 2 seems to affiance his musical style. Expansive and serene with enrapturing melodic flights.

His Quartet Op 74 is his longest one, composed in the eve of the Century may be considered as music in its purest sense. Reger puts out flashes of a new language, signed by dark poetry -Böcklin- and elusive abstraction, he returns to Beethoven (specially in the third movement) though the last movement is pregnant of humor.

His Op. 109 is a contemplative cosmic gaze not mystical, enrooted deeply in the intersection's point between the tradition and the innovation. If you listen carefully the first movement you will find suggested traces of the Dies Irae in certain passages.

His last Quartet Op. 12 clearly preannounce in the intimate voices of Schoenberg's Transfigured Night. It' s undeniable his most complex, dense, ambitious and leafy qprk within this genre.

His musical thinking is built on the counterpoint's basis and traditional forms. His harmonies seem an opaline crystal without definite color. Reger begins with a certain tonality and comes to it, walking up and down through countless harmonic lateral paths.

The Bern ensemble has been one of best findings in the last two decades. If you think in the raising quartets such Chiringilian, Talich and Berne you may remain calm.

"