# Bretón - String Quartet 1 (SQ review)



## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Raised mostly fatherless from the age of 2, in the Spanish city of Salamanca, Tomás Bretón was already playing violin in theater orchestras at the age of 10 to support his family! After a move to Madrid, he studied violin and composition in the conservatory where he honed his composing technique. At the age of 30 he got to travel and study in Rome and Vienna and eventually became director of the Madrid Conservatory as well as the Sociedad de Concertos (the later Madrid Symphony Orchestra) on his return to his homeland. Although initially ignored or critised, in Spain, for his lack of an overt Spanish sound (he used Spanish themes subtly in many of his works) he eventually garnered acclaim for his work as a musician rather than composer. 
He wrote his 1st String Quartet around 1904 but couldn't get it published until 1910 when he was finally famous in his own country (it was the only quartet of his published in his lifetime). He dedicated the work to Queen Maria Christina.
The 1st movement, Allegro moderato, is romantic material in which I hear early Schumode. It is an intriguing movement yet never seems to outstay its 9 minute duration. The 2nd movement, Andante, is much darker and ominous and occupies more of a Gallic-style soundworld with touches of Beethoven. The 3rd movement, Scherzo, is more Spanish in feel with its gently dancing rhythms and picked guitar stylings (aped with the clever use of pizzicato). The finale, Grave, starts slowly with cadenzas given to all 4 instruments until a large fugue kicks in and develops skillfully through a moderato phase until a joyful, spirited close. 
This is an enjoyable quartet and if I have one criticism it's that I find the finale Fugue a little too long (the development is skilful though). If you do enjoy it I suggest you seriously check out the 3rd quartet, a more accomplished work. 
There's only two recordings available. The *New Budapest Quartet*, on Marco Polo, are perfectly recommendable, caught in a decent acoustic. They play well but perhaps their older performance is now sounding a little 'old-fashioned' in style. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong here but they aren't anywhere near as impressive as the *Breton String Quartet*. The Breton are more alive, use vibrato more judiciously and seem to find greater joy in this quartet. The Naxos sound is very fine, indeed, with a nice amount of air around the ensemble, and this adds to the feeling of vivacity. This more modern style of performance works much better here for me so this is an easy first choice, especially as it's twinned with an even more successful recording of the superior 3rd quartet.


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