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Nielsen: String Quartet No 2 & 3 / Aros Quartet
Release Date: 12/01/2002
Label: CPO Catalog #: 999 698 Spars Code: DDD
Composer: Ludolf Nielsen
Performer: Ida Lorenzen, Tina Traeholt, Dorthe Byrialsen, Birgitte Oland
Orchestra/Ensemble: Aros String Quartet
Number of Discs: 1
Recorded in: Stereo
Length: 0 Hours 57 Mins.
EAN: 0761203969821
Works on This Recording
1. Quartet for Strings no 2 in C minor, Op. 5 by Ludolf Nielsen
Performer: Ida Lorenzen (Violin), Tina Traeholt (Violin), Dorthe Byrialsen (Viola),
Birgitte Oland (Cello)
Orchestra/Ensemble: Aros String Quartet
Period: Romantic
Written: 1903; Denmark
Date of Recording: 12/2000
Venue: Studio no 2, Danmarks Radio
Length: 30 Minutes 39 Secs.
2. Quartet for Strings no 3 in C major, Op. 41 by Ludolf Nielsen
Performer: Ida Lorenzen (Violin), Tina Traeholt (Violin), Dorthe Byrialsen (Viola),
Birgitte Oland (Cello)
Orchestra/Ensemble: Aros String Quartet
Period: Romantic
Written: 1920; Denmark
Date of Recording: 12/2000
Venue: Studio no 2, Danmarks Radio
Length: 26 Minutes 10 Secs.
Notes and Editorial Reviews
Two half hour string quartets from Denmark's other Nielsen. Ludolf Nielsen wrote three such quartets, the first, a charming work according to note writer Jens Cornelius, dating from 1900. The Second is suave and full of dense movement, like mid-period Beethoven with incursions from Dvořák (tr.2 and tr.4 00.38) as well as wrenching and yearning romance (tr.3). This quartet never entered the Danish repertoire despite three concert presentations by Ludolf's own ensemble, the Bjřrvig, in 1905 and two performances by the Anton Svendsen quartet in 1913.
The Third Quartet was written at the time of the death of his parents in 1920 from Spanish flu and with the dislocation and horror of the Great War not far distant. It is dedicated to the memory of his mother and father. The first of the four movements is mobile and flowing, carefree and care-weighed; intense and serenading, mercurial and with passing parallels with the chamber music of Herbert Howells. The rocking second movement is fragrant with rococo elegance. There is just enough of the ‘powdered wigs' effect to give flavour but to avoid enervation. The Adagio con dolore is introspective and austere, a sincere reflective song that pulls at the heart-strings. The finale (allegro) is a fantastic play of the passions - brilliant and tragic. The quartet was published in 1930 having been premiered by the Budapest Quartet in Copenhagen in 1920.
Typically warm, close recording, stingingly emotive playing, full of energetic poignancy. The Third Quartet is a remarkable work with a deeper reach than Ludolf's three symphonies which usually strike me as 'pictorial' in the manner of Goldmark's Rustic Wedding, Smetana's Festive and Børresen's Second and Third. Bless the Aros and CPO for rediscovering the fiery life in these pages and in the even more emotionally demanding Third.
Rob Barnett
musicweb-international
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Nielsen, L String Quartet Nos 2 and 3
Crisp performances of two neglected but finely crafted and engaging quartets
It would be hard to think of two contemporaries less alike, but Ludolf Nielsen shares more in common with Havergal Brian than his date of birth, January 29, 1876. Both were largely forgotten as composers after brief periods of success, both had a marked affinity for orchestral composition (tallying approximately 200 works in tonal idioms) and neither produced much in the way of chamber music.
Listening to these two inoffensive quartets, written in 1903-04 and 1920 respectively, it is hard to understand why they should have failed to succeed, even in so musically conservative a country as Denmark. Unlike his famous, older namesake Carl, Ludolf Nielsen's voice was never very distinctive, but his melodic gifts and fine craftsmanship are much in evidence in both quartets. The Second is no mean achievement for a composer still not 30, and shows his awareness of trends in Central Europe.
The Third, though, is more personal, part-requiem for his parents, victims of the post-Great War influenza epidemic. The quartet possesses a pastoral, elegiac quality that to the innocent ear suggests an English composer such as Bridge. It is the more accomplished of the two and, its relative lack of personal voice aside, deserves wider currency. Indeed, both works would, I suspect, delight lovers of the medium in concert.
The performances by the young, all-female Aros Quartet are splendid, full of verve and finesse. Formed in 1994 after graduating from the Royal Academy in Aarhus, their playing shows great commitment and a beautifully balanced blend of sound. CPO's sound is similarly superb. Highly enjoyable.
Gramophone - Guy Rickards
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Produktinfo:
Musikalische Biographien aus Dänemark
Dass Dänemark und seine reiche Musikgeschichte schon seit langem der Aufmerksamkeit von cpo gewiss ist, dokumentieren inzwischen viele Ersteinspielungen. Als wir z. B. 1995 die zweite Sinfonie von Ludolf Nielsen (1876–1939) veröffentlichten, kannte kaum einer den Zeitgenossen und Namensvetter des berühmten Carl Nielsen. Dass er selbst in Dänemark fast vergessen worden war, liegt sicherlich an seinem ruhigen, fast resignativen Naturell, dem jede Ellenbogenmentalität zuwider war. Trotz der allesbeherrschenden Stellung Carl Nielsens ging Ludolf erstaunlich unbeirrt seinen eigenen stilistischen Weg, und erst heute vermögen wir seine Bedeutung und den ganz eigenen Charme seiner die Romantik nie verleugnenden Musik voll zu würdigen. Er schrieb wenig Kammermusik, darunter drei Streichquartette. Diese zählen allerdings zum anspruchs- und reizvollsten, was die dänische Kammermusik zu bieten hat. Das junge dänische Aros Quartett hat nun die Quartette Nr. 2 op. 5 und Nr. 3 op. 41 für cpo eingespielt: wundervolle Entdeckungen!
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Rezensionen
Pizzicato 4 / 2003:
"Großartige Musik, phantastisch gespielt. Ein Ereignis."
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