In the summer of 2015, they really stood out during the string quartet week of the Festival Midis-Minimes. Today, the four gentlemen of the Quatuor Van Kuijk are celebrating their tenth anniversary with the first volume of a complete recording of Felix Mendelssohn's (1809-1847) entire string quartet oeuvre. A recording with many highlights, but the overall picture also has some weaker aspects.
When the Quatuor Van Kuijk made its appearance in mid-2015 at the Brussels conservatory, it created high expectations. The French quartet took the stage at the time as the freshly crowned winner of the triennial Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, one of the most important competitions in the genre alongside competitions in, among others, Australia (Melbourne), Bordeaux, Canadian Banff, Munich (the ARD-Musikwettbewerb) and Reggio Emilia (Premio Borciani). Their interpretation of, indeed, Felix Mendelssohn's poignant string quartet opus 80 – his swan song from 1847 – was a bull's-eye. Magnificent dialogues, dynamic contrasts and impeccably timed energy alternated splendidly. Van Kuijk and his colleagues have since pressed on with determination, although first violinist Nicolas Van Kuijk and his second Nicolas Van Kuijk and his second Sylvain Favre-Bulle did get new company: first in the person of violist Emmanuel François and since spring 2020 also cellist Anthony Kondo. Over the past decade, the quartet has developed into perhaps the most important successor to their fellow countrymen of the Quatuor Ebène. No fewer than 550 concerts in 140 cities, the already impressive figures on the ensemble's website speak for themselves.
So now a sixth cd has been added for the label Alpha Classics, recorded in the beautiful Salle de l'Esplanade, part of the Arsenal of 'la Cité musicale-Metz' reinvented by Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill (1939-2022). This is the first volume devoted to what should ultimately comprise Mendelssohn's complete oeuvre for string quartet, of which the second installment was also recorded in Metz in June of this year. The Quatuor Van Kuijk has chosen string quartet opus 13 as the starting point for its complete recording, written in autumn 1827 by the 18-year-old Felix and thus indeed two years younger than the subsequent quartet in E-flat opus 12. It all sounds very logical, at least at first glance, but it isn't. Because if you want to provide a truly complete/more complete picture in this, you can't really ignore an earlier string quartet in E-flat: a four-movement work that first saw the light of day in March 1823, which followed a set of fifteen fugues for this combination, but was only published in 1879 by Erler in Berlin. It appears that neither this earliest quartet nor the four short pieces collected under opus number 81 will be part of Van Kuijk's 'complete' recording. We'll have to wait and see.
Beethoven's First Heir
Back to what this brand new album actually has to offer, and that is still remarkably much! To begin with, an excellent resilient performance of opus 13, a work that, as oddly as regrettably, is indicated with the wrong key both on the cover and in the accompanying booklet (A major instead of a minor), and which musicologists together with the string quartet in f (opus 80) generally consider among Mendelssohn's most successful examples. With this "coup de maître" – as Stéphane Goldet, the writer of the accompanying text, puts it – the Hamburg composer demonstrated that his famous octet for strings from 1825 was no fluke. Moreover, this quartet also proves to be a deep bow towards Ludwig Van Beethoven, who died in March 1827, whose late string quartets had just been published. In that regard, Goldet points out, among other things, a little secret: a solemn, unison motif at the end of the slow introduction of opus 13 ("Adagio"), which Mendelssohn would have borrowed from the very beginning of the middle section of the piano sonata "Les Adieux" (opus 81a), titled "Abwesenheit". In a footnote, she further questions the nevertheless common view that Mendelssohn would have used this specific motif for the first time in Frage, the opening song of his cycle opus 9, namely at the words "Ist es wahr?". But that the string quartet may well have come first is clearly refuted by Felix himself in a letter to his friend, Swedish composer Adolf Lindblad (1801-1878).
Emotion and comfort at the same time, that is what Mendelssohn had in store for his listeners at the beginning of his 'first' string quartet in a minor. An intimate, deeply felt plea in which the Quatuor Van Kuijk immediately strikes an excellent balance. This "Adagio" is not only a discreet stepping stone to what will become quite a tempestuous half hour of music, but also a conclusion since the composer suddenly brings this argument back at the very end of the quartet. In the "Allegro Vivace" that follows, the quartet together creates a whirling and intense soundscape that also meets all the composer's wishes in terms of dynamics. A skillful and promising display of teamwork that seamlessly continues in both middle sections ("Adagio non lento" and "Allegretto con moto – Allegro di molto"). The touching fusion of voices in the ambiguous slow movement is just as convincing as the strikingly pulsating, somewhat agitated and grandiose "poco più animato". Thanks to the intermezzo, the third movement meanwhile, the performance continues to build. This music is vintage Mendelssohn: a naive, subtle, but above all very gracefully plucked and bowed "Allegretto", with a playful trio in between. A delightful dream from which the beginning of the finale – an ominous tremolo – abruptly awakens us ("Presto"). Ending in "Adagio non lento", this forms the crown of a sublime string quartet. "Une page étonnante, la plus complexe écrite par le jeune Mendelssohn", as Jean-Alexandre Ménétrier writes in awe in the Guide de la musique de chambre (Fayard, 1989, p. 575). "Mendelssohn montre ici une maîtrise, une originalité de forme et de fond sans équivalent dans l'Europe de 1830, et s'affirme comme le premier héritier de Beethoven." During the succession of urgent passages, the Quatuor Van Kuijk chooses to maintain the pace above all, rather than sometimes playing more declamatory and thus more eloquently. It is a legitimate and certainly also consistent choice, which makes the meditative conclusion all the stronger.
Boring schoolboys versus virtuoso enthusiasts
In April 1829 Mendelssohn crossed the Channel for the first time towards England and Scotland. There, the young twenty-year-old put a finishing touch to another string quartet on 14 September. On paper, at least, for he let those at home know that there was still some fine-tuning needed here and there. This opus 12 was published roughly simultaneously with opus 13 in the autumn of 1830, albeit by different publishers, and today stands somewhat in the shadow of its younger sibling. The string quartets of Beethoven, both from the middle and late periods (opus 74 and 127) remain significant sources of inspiration for Felix, not least through the concise intro ("Adagio non troppo") and the lyrical "Allegro non tardante" that follows. But the storm that frequently reared its head in opus 13 has subsided and gives way to a predominantly harmonious tone of voice. The fluid phrasing of the empathetic Quatuor Van Kuijk is equally in line with how the composer has laid them out in this almost carefree opening movement. The "Canzonetta" that follows is the most striking movement, in which a simple and somewhat archaic-sounding tune is interrupted by a trio that is characteristically Mendelssohnian, namely extremely light-footed. The melody is performed by the four gentlemen strictly in time and in a decidedly schoolish manner ("Allegretto"). With the intention of making the contrast with the spirited interlude ("più mosso") as great as possible? There is certainly something to be said for it, but it also sounds rather tedious as a result. Then first the thoughtful "Andante espressivo", strikingly intoned, and especially the sparkling finale ("Molto allegro e vivace") leave a completely different impression! Wave after wave and turn after turn, the quartet maintains a brisk tempo without sacrificing precision for a moment, until a quotation from the first movement – the coda – brings the work to a close. Hats off!
On 28 March 1837, wedding bells ring in Frankfurt. The marriage between Mendelssohn and Cécile Jeanrenaud (1817-1853) also ushers in a particularly fruitful compositional period, in which chamber music will certainly receive due attention. No fewer than three quartets flow from his pen in a relatively short time (1837-1838) and will be grouped under the opus number 44. What today is known as the first string quartet was in reality the last to see the light, in the summer of 1838. The premiere was given on 16 February of the following year, and was in the capable hands of violinist Ferdinand David (1810-1873) and his colleagues from the Gewandhaus orchestra in Leipzig. Do you ever wonder why this quartet in D major, just like its two counterparts, is heard so little at concerts today? It seems that even Schumann's string quartets (opus 41), which were incidentally inspired by Mendelssohn, enjoy more favour on the concert stage today. It won't be due to the enthusiasm of the Quatuor Van Kuijk. That is clearly audible from the very first measures of the "Molto allegro vivace". It can't be otherwise, I hear you perhaps thinking, with such an unannounced surge of joie de vivre as the first theme. Quite right, but again the quartet manages to contain the enthusiasm in an effective way, and that for more than 12 minutes, since the recapitulation is also taken into account. The same applies to the flawlessly virtuosic "Presto", which is indeed played "con brio" and with a great sense of timing. In a different way, the classical minuet ("Un poco allegretto") and the slow movement ("Andante espressivo ma con moto") also testify to a brilliant approach. In the minuet, there are of course the rolling figures in the first violin that stand out, whereas in the "Andante" both violins are intertwined with each other in an equally ingenious and transparent manner to create a splendid Lied ohne Worte.
It is a shame that the undeniable care in the ensemble playing has not been consistently applied throughout this release. The incorrect key for opus 13, which has already been mentioned. But beyond that, there are also several slips in the CD booklet. Where is the second footnote in the English translation, for example? Whereas in the German version the last footnote is missing. Fortunately, these are no more than minor quibbles that pale in comparison to the polished and purposeful way in which the musical score itself is performed. And that is ultimately still the essence!
4.5/5
- WHAT: Mendelssohn. Complete string quartets. Volume 1. String quartets opus 12 in E-flat, 13 in a and 44 no. 1 in D
- WHO: Quatuor Van Kuijk (Nicolas Van Kuijk [violin], Sylvain Favre-Bulle [violin], Emmanuel François [viola], Anthony Kondo [cello])
- EDITION: Alpha Classics, ALPHA 873
- ORDER: JPC