This is the third and last of the Talich Quartet’s Mendelssohn series, and it’s as good as its predecessors. The group’s affinity for Mendelssohn is abundantly clear in the first work on the disc, the early E-flat quartet, written at age 14 and excluded from the catalogue by the self-critical composer. It’s hardly a great work, but even forgetting the age of its author, it’s a sturdily constructed piece well worth hearing, especially the elegant, Haydnesque Menuetto. The Talich takes it seriously, and as a result it makes a fine impression in this performance.
The F minor Op. 80 dates from Mendelssohn’s last year, 1847. It was written in response to the news of his sister’s death, recalling a similar impetus (Beethoven’s death) for the Op. 13 quartet. While the Talich never lets the work’s strong emotions run loose, the ensemble plays with tremendous energy: the tension-ridden first movement is urgent, the brief dancing second movement is infused with a wildness that contradicts the stereotype of the elegant composer, and the final Allegro molto seethes with passion, concluding with a fiercely-driven climax. The heart of this quartet is the Adagio, a lament that cuts to the heart, the Talich getting to its core with restrained, tenderly phrased exchanges.
The Op. 81 quartet is a hybrid, assembled by a publisher after Mendelssohn’s death from four separate quartet movements. The first two were written in 1847 but put aside to work on the F minor quartet. The opening Andante is an attractive set of variations and the following Scherzo’s scampering strings recall Mendelssohn in his Midsummer Night mode. An early fugue from his teenage years closes the cobbled-together work, showing the composer already an accomplished technician who revered Bach. The third movement, a Capriccio composed in 1843 and in the form of a prelude and fugue, is the crown of the four movements. The Talich gives full due to the yearning prelude, perfectly projecting its sadly nostalgic mood, then changing gears to launch into the fugue at top speed, displaying their virtuosity at a fearless tempo. Engineering is first rate, as are the Talich’s performances. Like most of this quartet’s recordings, this one’s self-recommending. [3/26/2004]
