Hausmusik London - Felix Mendelssohn: Octet; Quintets Nos. 1 & 2; Quartet No. 2 (2000) 2CDs
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 546 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 284 Mb | Scans included
Classical | Label: Virgin Veritas | # 7243 5 6 1809 2 5 | Time: 02:03:13
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 546 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 284 Mb | Scans included
Classical | Label: Virgin Veritas | # 7243 5 6 1809 2 5 | Time: 02:03:13
Hausmusik’s performance of the Mendelssohn Octet comes with the advantage of a sensibly steady tempo for the famous scherzo, allowing for maximum transparency and lightness; and a dazzling finale in which for once the cello’s first scurrying fugal entry sounds crystal clear. The First String Quintet, and the Op. 13 Quartet – Mendelssohn’s homage to the late quartets of the recently deceased Beethoven – are also miraculous products of the composer’s teenage years. The Quintet is quite beautifully done here, but the Quartet, like the late Quintet, Op. 87, is rather lacking in tension and urgency. Woldemar Bargiel was Schumann’s brother-in-law. For all its obvious weaknesses, his Octet contains some attractive ideas, and Divertimenti’s performance makes a strong case for it. Divertimenti is impressive in the Mendelssohn, too – though its finale is not quite as exhilarating as Hausmusik’s; and in the last resort neither group can quite match the élan of the ASMF Chamber Ensemble.