# Puccini - Crisantemi SC.65 (SQ review)



## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

As regular readers of my blogs will know (you have regular readers of this stuff, Merl? Yeah, and bears lay eggs!) every now and again I need some relief from those long, complex 30-40 minute quartets. I don't tire of the genre but it's nice, occasionally, to just review a much shorter piece for string quartet. With that in mind, I chose this fairly well-known romantic classic/SQ recital encore/Classic FM album filler, to review. Puccini wrote Crisantemi (Chrysanthemums) in memoriam to his friend the Duke of Savoy, formerly King Amadeo I Of Spain, who died in 1890. Allegedly, Puccini wrote this beautiful piece in one night upon hearing the news of his dear friend's death. Puccini called it Crisantemi because in Italy chrysanthemums are associated with funereal ceremonies and events, btw. The original quartet score for this piece is heard less often than the version written for string orchestra but there are still plenty of recordings of this gorgeous elegy, often recorded as disc-fillers. 
Although not a 'string quartet', more a quartettsatz, this charming little vignette consists of two themes, the first one which bookends the quartet, while the second takes up the middle of the work. The first theme is melancholy, highly romantic and has a violin melody that I'm sure some people will recognise. The second theme is more dreamlike in essence with its tremulous accompaniment (I love this part). Puccini loved the two melodies so much that he reused them for the most poignant moments in Acts III and IV of his opera 'Manon Lescaut', years later. Surprisingly, there's not as many recordings as you'd think of this staple encore but there are stacks of live ones on YouTube, mainly because it's a piece so heavily used as an opener/encore in SQ performances. I've heard it used at least twice at SQ recitals over the years. Anyway, I've split the recordings into 3 groups. Suffice to say that no one completely messed this one up or had dreadful sound so the list below reflects all those I listened to and are all decent at the very least. If you know of another I need to hear, that's not on the list, please let me know in the replies/comments but I've covered at least 98% of them. A typical performance of Crisantemi lasts a mere 5 and a half to 7 minutes but some quartets can stretch it out a bit longer (eg. Brodsky, Hagen) and that's fine as long as it isn't too schmaltzy (it is a deeply moving piece after all). I always look for those performances that reflect the light and shade of this quartet, and handle that second theme really well. I'll only comment briefly on my top picks, below. 

Here's an exceptionally fine performance from the Enso Quartet (better than their studio recording). 





Recommended

La Scala (live) 
Saint John
Kocian
Amar
Philarte
Bessler-Reis
EnAccord
Saulesco 
Emerson
Quartetto David
Varese
Lotus
Juilliard
Venezia (or Venice) 
Alberni

*Gorgeous

Manhattan
Silesian
Brodsky
Navarra
Acies
Di Roma
Delme
Hagen
Nous
Arabella
Signum
Leipziger
Enso
Carmina 
Streichquartett der Staatskapelle Berlin 

Top picks

Raphael* - a big thank you to Alto for remastering this late 80s performance. I love the Raphael's slightly bouncer, brisker pace in the second theme topped off with sumptuous violin sound and beautifully balanced ensemble. 
*Modigliani* - a slightly broader but searingly beautiful account with great personalty and an intensity and passion that would make a zombie cry. Tone, tone, tone! 
*Di Cremona* - possibly my slight fave amongst this elevated bunch but microscopically. Their vibrant tone, dynamics and use of rubato suit the music to a tee. Listen to that thick chord just before the second theme starts. Mmmmm.


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