# Dvorak String Quartet 10 'Slavonic' op.51 (SQ review)



## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

A live recording NYO Canada Quartet 






Recommended
ABQ
Janacek (1957)
Budapest (1956)
Kapralova
New Zealand
Britten
Bennewitz
Wihan (2019)
Australian
Vogler
American String Quartet

*Hugely recommended

Panocha* (1993 & 2005) - the Camerata remake slightly beats their previous recording as its more characterful but its such fine margins that I put them both on an equal footing.
*Albion* - smooth, warm and dreamy and a bit more rusticity would have nudged it higher.
*Emerson* - the Emersons play this one very intelligently. Darker and very intimate, the Emersons really dig into the finale with gusto.
*Lindsays* - idiomatic and keenly played. The Lindsays capture the bucolic nature of the 10th really well.
*Stamitz* - a slower, more melancholy reading but with delightful ensemble playing.
*Wihan (1997)* - I prefer this to their better recorded, better mixed, better played new account just because it sounds less polished, more fresh-faced and impulsive. I particularly like how they cling on by their fingernails in an impressive finale.

*Special

Prague* - like the old Vlach recording this has bags of character. 
*Vlach (new)* - whilst not quite in the league of their predecessors I really enjoyed the unfussy way the Vlachs had with this one. The dumka can sometimes come across as a bit glum but that's not the case here. A few tiny intonation issues in the first violin but as a performance I find this one very hard to better.
*Vienna* (Camerata 2004) - chunky cello, old-style Italiano-like elegance, lots of vibrato and a fair bit of clout mark this one out as a particular fave amongst the also-ranks if you like this type of throwback performance. I do.
*Prazak* - just like the Panocha account but with more personality and an impulsive feel that the Panochas don't quite capture. Suffice to say the Prazaks + Dvorak = Quality.
*Talich* (2015) - you can rely on the Talichs, old or new, for one thing and that's just beautiful tone. Cohesively this makes a lot of sense and a bit more bottom end in the recording would have propelled it to the top. Highly lyrical.
*Takacs* - rich and darker (especially in the dumka) but impeccable tone. The Takacs' use of dynamics is legendary and rarely bettered.

*Top pick

Vlach (1963)* - just listen to the peppiness and verve of this recording and you'll hopefully come to the same conclusion as me that this is THE account of the Slavonic. Not too languid or morpish in the dumka and the finale absolutely rattles along with character abundant. A clear first choice for me this time regardless of the age of this recording (the remastered version sounds much better, btw) but it's still quite hissy. If you find the mono sound a little too basic then just try any of the list above for alternatives but you should really hear this out.


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