Debussy - String Quartet [The Keller String Quartet]
About a couple of years ago the Ravel String Quartet came out of the 'like' department of my brain, and into the 'love' department of my heart, the Debussy String Quartet has lagged behind, not so memorable, not so... i'm not sure, but it hasn't hit me yet, i played the Ravel String Quartet on this disc just over a month ago [20th April 2011], now i turn to the Debussy, and slowly i'm getting there.
The Keller String Quartet were formed in 1987 in Hungary, and this recording was made in 1993, i like the booklet front cover, two thirds a close up picture of a leaf, showing green and yellow, a really sharp picture showing all the veins, really nice.
Both Ravel and Debussy make excellent use of pizzicato, it seems that Ravel based his Quartet on the Debussy, also employing a second movement that is an excellent mix of pizzicato and bowing, i really enjoyed Debussy's second movement Assez Vif Et Bien Rythme, it's short at under 4 minutes, but not short on excitement, just listen to the first Violinist [Andras Keller] play those opening pizzicato notes [0:08-0:37], it's those high treble plinks that really are lovely, and a nice jump to sweet bowing [0:57-1:26], and then to slightly more sour [2:10-2:26], the pizzicato of the opening returns [2:35-2:56], and right near the end a some clever lazy bowing by the lower strings [3:17-3:25], examining the Quartet more closely brings out dividends.
Here's the Brooklyn Ryder String Quartet playing the second movement on YouTube.
