# Mosolov - String Quartet 1 op.24 (SQ review)



## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Alexander Mosolov was born in Kiev but he grew up in Moscow, where he studied piano and composition at the Moscow Conservatory with Gliere and Myaskovsky and soon became part of the Russian Futurist Movement. His early works weren't popular with the Stalinist government (and neither was he after a series of drunken incidents, culminating with his involvement in a mass brawl in 1936) and he was locked away in the Gulag for 8 months for "counter-revolutionary activities". After his release, he concentrated his efforts on using the folk music of Kyrgizstan and Turkmenstan in orchestral and chamber settings and his compositions became more mainstream after his imprisonment for fear of upsetting the authorities again.

He wrote at least 4 quartets. This, his 1st String Quartet, was composed in 1926, just after he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory and is the type of music that so upset the authorities. The strange and unsettling opening movement, Andante agitato, begins mysteriously and malevolently. An ostinato rhythm in the cello leads ominously, followed by a militaristic marching theme and then we return to mystery interspersed with stormy bursts of notes and tempo changes. The 2nd, adagio, movement is a slow dance changing to a a faster section and ending in a Largo funebre. The Scherzo 3rd movement is agitated and slightly wild before we hit the finale, Allegro risoluto. This begins in a similar frenetic fashion to the previous movement but the music is dizzy and stranger. After tempo changes (again) a march sequence follows. Constant mood and tempo changes punctuate the dizzying movement. Safe to say this is not romantic music and a point of reference for me was Bartok (but that's likely coincidence as they were writing at the same time, according to my good friend Knorf). However it's from an even stranger futurist soundworld with possibly some influences of his Turkmen, Eastern roots. At other times it can be industrial/militaristic in equal measure. I'm still really not sure to make of this strange, angular quartet with it's violent outbursts and mechanical rhythms but it's certainly 'different' and I will be returning to it. Only 2 recordings so I'll talk briefly about both.

Here's an entertaining performance from the Danel quartet (they look as confused by it all as we are). Lol.






Listening to both recorded versions of this quartet its difficult to pick a 'more preferred' recording as they are both quite different. The Utrecht Quartet are obviously confident in this type of music but I'm not wholly convinced that their less ascerbic reading is exactly what Mosolov was aiming for and they smooth the edges a little too much. They are certainly secure in ensemble and play with clarity and skill but I find the recording a little recessed and unengaging. The Novosibirsk Philharmonic Quartet are highly volatile here and their in-your-face, close-up recording might be preferable to many. They also play with a great deal of zeal, passion and have power aplenty to spare. As both are available via streaming services I'd advise that you listen to both before deciding on which one you prefer. There are things to enjoy in both.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Yes, as soon as I heard this on one of those Arte Nova 'Futurism' discs I thought "Mosolov might get away with Iron Foundry but he's surely going to get his card marked for this..." The Soviet avant-garde was short-lived but produced some very thought-provoking and enjoyable music. I will play the other recording when my next set of monthly data kicks in - I'm running a bit low right now.


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