Dvorak - String Quartet 12 'American' [Takacs String Quartet]
One of my favourite String Quartets, and this is a nice Dvorak collection of works, giving us the String Quartet 14 as well, and of course the Takacs are a fine group, and this Quartet is almost the Chamber Music twin of Dvorak's Ninth Symphony, the aching melodies are similar, and some of the 'American film music' ideas also abound, Dvorak seemed to have got better and better the longer he lived, and his greatest works came towards the end of his life, his United States residency proved particularly fruitful, and he integrated indigenous musical ideas into his compositions.
The Takacs String Quartet are from Hungary, formed in the mid seventies, they are still going strong today, nearly 40 years old, though two of the original members are no longer with the group, they recorded this disc in 1989, the front cover picture is a fantastic one [by David Gamble], showing the Quartet in a Town Hall, lovely ornate marble pillars and railings, all couched in chocolate and cream, nicely posed and lit, and shot from a creative low angle, and given nice browns for the background colour scheme, i like the visuals a lot on this issue.
The first two movements were very rewarding, full of invention and longing, and it was the gorgeous slow second movement that i was transfixed by, it's almost a hymn in its spirituality,
Here's the second movement Lento played by the Fry Street Quartet on YouTube.
The Takacs String Quartet are from Hungary, formed in the mid seventies, they are still going strong today, nearly 40 years old, though two of the original members are no longer with the group, they recorded this disc in 1989, the front cover picture is a fantastic one [by David Gamble], showing the Quartet in a Town Hall, lovely ornate marble pillars and railings, all couched in chocolate and cream, nicely posed and lit, and shot from a creative low angle, and given nice browns for the background colour scheme, i like the visuals a lot on this issue.
The first two movements were very rewarding, full of invention and longing, and it was the gorgeous slow second movement that i was transfixed by, it's almost a hymn in its spirituality,
Here's the second movement Lento played by the Fry Street Quartet on YouTube.
