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Dohnányi: Chamber Music III - Kocian Quartet, Klepač, Bernášek

Dohnányi: Chamber Music III - Kocian Quartet, Klepač, Bernášek

Praga Digitals  PRD/DSD 250 268

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical - Chamber


Erno Dohnányi: String Quartet No. 1 in A major Op. 7, String Quartet No. 3 in A minor Op. 33, Ruralia Hungarica Op. 32d

Kocian Quartet
Václav Bernášek (cello)
Jaromír Klepač (piano)


A third volume from Praga Digitals, devoted to the chamber music of the Hungarian pianist-composer-conductor, Dohnanyi, illustrating the late blossoming of a neo-Germanic Romanticism combined with Magyar nationalism in the style of Brahms. A new tribute paid to a master who made the Hungarian musical scene and his younger colleagues Bartok, Kodaly and Weiner internationally famous between the wars.

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Review by Mark Novak - June 8, 2010

This is the third volume of Erno von Dohnanyi’s chamber music being newly recorded and released on SACD hybrid by Praga Digitals. For those unfamiliar, Dohnanyi’s idiom is firmly tonal, late romantic with occasional Hungarian/gypsy influences. Two of his three string quartets are contained here in good performances by the Kocian quartet.

The first quartet in A major was composed in 1899 (correctly attributed in the booklet notes and back cover of the SACD but incorrectly listed on the back of the booklet as “1914”). The first movement melds German romanticism with French impressionism in a successful mélange of sound. The following scherzo adds some gypsy spice while the third movement adagio adds a beautiful melody (this movement was encored at the first performance). The energetic Vivace finale brings the work to an exhilarating conclusion. A very enjoyable 28 minutes of music in a performance by the Kocian’s that does justice to the piece.

The third quartet in A minor was written in 1926 and reflects a more mature composer. Here Dohnanyi dispenses with a traditional scherzo movement in favor of a three-movement structure giving about equal weights to the opening Allegro movement (11:12) and the second Adagio movement (10:25). Once again, I hear some French influences on this music along with Hungarian flavor. While the melodies are not particularly memorable, the work is very skillfully composed with an especially moving second movement. The up-tempo vivace finale makes for a satisfying conclusion.

The filler, which comes between the two quartets, is Dohnanyi’s transcription for cello and piano of his original piano suite entitled Ruralia Hungarica. The 6 minute piece is effectively performed by J. Klepac (piano) and V. Bernasek, cellist of the Kocian Quartet.

The string quartets were recorded in the usual Domovina studio, Prague, by recording engineers Karel Soukenik and Vaclav Roubel. Here they manage a good balance between direct and reverberant sound in the stereo SACD layer. The violins are present and have an authoritative bite in the top octaves without sounding unnatural or fatiguing. The viola (which is given lots of material in these quartets) has a typical throaty fullness and the cello blooms effectively. The overall blend sounds very natural and present. The cello and piano filler was recorded in the Martinu Concert Hall and comes off even more realistic sounding to these ears on my system. A very nice addition to the chamber music catalog. Recommended.

Copyright © 2010 Mark Novak and HRAudio.net

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