Brahms: String Quartet No. 1; String Quintet No. 2 (2004)

In its third recording for EMI, the youthful Belcea Quartet approaches two works by Brahms with abundant energy and eagerness to please, but with less insight and conviction than the pieces demand. A fair appraisal of these performances must credit the players for adhering to form, for holding together as equal partners, and for maintaining a clear sense of purpose. However, their emotional involvement with the music is not adequately communicated, due either to their facility or, possibly, to a predetermined scheme of ... Read More

In its third recording for EMI, the youthful Belcea Quartet approaches two works by Brahms with abundant energy and eagerness to please, but with less insight and conviction than the pieces demand. A fair appraisal of these performances must credit the players for adhering to form, for holding together as equal partners, and for maintaining a clear sense of purpose. However, their emotional involvement with the music is not adequately communicated, due either to their facility or, possibly, to a predetermined scheme of moods. The String Quartet No. 1 is, by turns, nervous, introspective, darkly lyrical, and passionately contentious, and these Romantic qualities are certainly part of Brahms' language. Yet they are almost superficially rendered, and the music seems to flow not from intimate engagement but from a conscious calculation of attitudes. The Belcea's performance of the String Quintet No. 2 is better for being more spontaneous and conversational. With the addition of Thomas Kakuska on second... Read Less