Composer: Felix Weingartner
Performer: Sarastro Quartett
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: CPO
Catalogue: 7772512
Release: 2008
Size: 333 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
String Quartet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 24
01. I. Allegro moderato
02. II. Adagio assai
03. III. Allegro molto
04. IV. Vivace – Andante tema con variazioni
String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 34
05. I. Allegro commodo
06. II. Allegro molto
07. III. Poco adagio – Allegro giocoso
Following on from CPO’s successful exploration of Weingartner’s symphonies, it is time to explore his chamber music, which is in every way an equal to his orchestral music. As with a lot of his orchestral works, personal experience was very much an influence on his musical style. His opus 24 quartet featured on this disc was composed after the death of Bismarck and the tragic news that a dear child had died in the house where he composed his first symphony. The result is an outstandingly melancholic work.
After releasing five discs devoted to his orchestral music, CPO here begins what promises to be a complete collection of the string quartets of Felix Weingartner. Best remembered as one of the great German conductors of the first half of the twentieth century, Weingartner turns out to have been a prolific composer of mediocre music, most of it heavily indebted to earlier, better composers. In this coupling by the Sarastro Quartet, Weingartner proves he could mix progressions swiped from Schubert with themes stolen from Beethoven in his String Quartet No. 1 and harmonies purloined from Dvorák and textures borrowed from Brahms in his String Quartet No. 3 and still come up with works that sound nowhere near as interesting or inspired as their models. The Sarastro Quartet gives the music more than it is due, with stylish and dedicated performances that have been recorded in clear, cool digital sound by CPO. Listeners looking for great fin de siècle central European chamber music are advised to look elsewhere.