# Silvestrov - String Quartet 1 (SQ review)



## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

The Ukrainian, Valentin Silvestrov, is a composer I was not familiar with prior to this quartet. I do know that as an 'avant-garde' composer he was refused membership of the Union of Soviet Composers, condemning him to anonymity even in his own country. Silvestrov's First String quartet is a thing of sparse beauty - mostly quiet, nostalgic and intimate. The piece creates a meditative feel but by no means a depressing one, to me.

*Recordings*

After listening to a few recordings of this one, my favourite recording was by the *Rosamunde Quartet *on ECM. This was shorter and, I felt, more emotionally powerful than the others I tried. Unfortunately, I didn't hear the Matangi Quartet account but the more concise Rosamunde definitely had a bigger emotional pull than the *Lysenko* accounts. Although the 1992 Lysenko outing was an impressive second choice it had a darker feel that im not sure was as much to my taste and their 1980 recording did absolutely nothing for me at all. This is certainly a very interesting quartet and one not usually within my comfort zone. You have to give this music time to breathe and develop before revealing its architecture and musical landscapes. Interesting that it peaks in the middle, as though its part of an arc before disappearing again into dissonance and musical barrenness.


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