# Glazunov - String Quartet 5 op.70 (SQ review)



## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Glazunov finished his 5th String Quartet in 1900. The first movement starts slowly in the 'sad key' (as I describe it to my students) of D Minor with a sorrowful Andante introduction. The main theme, led by the viola, is a fugue. The second theme follows and is led by the first violin and the movement concludes with a busy stretto. The 2nd movement is a playful and fun Scherzo Allegretto, begun by the first violin, and is very much my cup of tea with its dancing pizzicati on violin and cello throughout its skittish trio section. The balance of the four voices is key here. The 3rd movement Adagio is thoughtful, nostalgic (for me) and dreamy and never outstays its welcome with its rich melodies and beautiful interplay. The Allegro finale is, like the first movement, fugal in form. It has been suggested (without any evidence) that the music is taken from a folk dance but I don't really hear that. I find the finale extremely playful and childlike, but perhaps a little too trivial. However, if you enjoy the quartets of Tchaikovsky, Smetana (to a certain degree) and especially early Schubert then I'm sure you'll find something to enjoy in this pleasant, romantic quartet. Only a handful of recordings so here's what I thought.... 

Utrecht
Lyric
Delray
Shostakovich
St Petersburg

As well as they play (and I really like their sense of unity in this quartet) the Lyric quartet are hampered by an acoustic which leaves them sounding like they're playing in different areas of the Blue John Mine and the reverberance is too much to bear, providing no separation of instruments and a terrible, distracting echo. The Delray Quartet aren't as secure in ensemble as the Lyrics and they are are given a very close, dry sound but they make a decent if occasionally poorly-intoned fist of it but there are much better efforts here. I like the *Utrecht's *Tchaikovsky performances a lot (see my blog posts) and MDG give them a nice soundstage but I think there's more to this music than they supply and I found their performance strangely cool and a little bit disconnected. Certainly a decent account but I'm not sure they grasp the opportunity with both hands and find that bit more as the *St Petersburg Quartet* do. The Russians are a bit close-up and the extraneous, low-level breathing and humming from the cellist didn't distract me much (but I thought I should mention it). I doubt anyone could play this as convincingly so this would generally be a primary recommendation for me. However, as an alternative the *Shostakovich Quartet *play with their customary glorious warmth and skill and produce a great all-round vision. Although analogue and slightly upfront the mid-1970s recording is very good and if you're offended by the St Petersburg cellists vocalisations then turn to this as a suitable alternative. Both of these recordings are very fine.


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