In the summer of 2015, they really stood out during the string quartet week of Festival Midis-Minimes. Today, the four gentlemen of the Quatuor Van Kuijk celebrate their tenth anniversary with the first volume of a complete recording of Felix Mendelssohn's (1809-1847) complete works for string quartet. A recording with many highlights, but the overall picture also has some weaker points.
When the Quatuor Van Kuijk made their appearance in the middle of 2015 at the Brussels conservatory, it created high expectations. The French quartet took to the stage at the time as the freshly crowned winner of the triennial Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, one of the most important competitions in the genre alongside competitions in, among others, Australia (Melbourne), Bordeaux, Canadian Banff, Munich (the ARD-Musikwettbewerb) and Reggio Emilia (Premio Borciani). Their interpretation of, indeed, Felix Mendelssohn's moving string quartet opus 80 – his swan song from 1847 – was a bullseye. Beautiful dialogues, dynamic contrasts and impeccably timed energy alternated magnificently. Van Kuijk and his colleagues have since pressed on determinedly, though primarius Nicolas Van Kuijk and his second violinist Sylvain Favre-Bulle did receive new company: first in the person of violist Emmanuel François and since spring 2020 also cellist Anthony Kondo. Over the past decade, the quartet has grown into arguably the most important successor to their compatriots from the Quatuor Ebène. No fewer than 550 concerts in 140 cities, the already impressive figures on the ensemble's website speak for themselves.
A sixth CD has now been added for the label Alpha Classics, recorded in the beautiful Salle de l'Esplanade, part of the Arsenal of 'la Cité musicale-Metz' redesigned by Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill (1939-2022). It is the first volume devoted to what will ultimately encompass Mendelssohn's complete works for string quartet, and of which the second part was also recorded in Metz in June of this year. As a starting point for their complete edition, the Quatuor Van Kuijk chooses the string quartet opus 13, written in the autumn of 1827 by the 18-year-old Felix and thus indeed two years younger than the following quartet in E-flat opus 12. It all sounds very logical, at least at first sight, but it is not. For if you really want to provide a complete/more complete picture here, you cannot actually avoid an earlier string quartet in E-flat: a four-movement work that saw the light in March 1823, followed a set of fifteen fugues for this combination, but was only published in 1879 by Erler in Berlin. It appears that neither this earliest quartet nor the four short pieces collected under opus number 81 will be part of Van Kuijk's 'complete edition'. We shall see.
Beethoven's First Successor
Back to what this brand-new album has to offer, and that is still remarkably much! To begin with, a splendid resilient performance of opus 13, a work that as oddly as regrettably gets indicated with the wrong key both on the cover and in the accompanying booklet (A major instead of a minor), and that musicologists together with the string quartet in f (opus 80) generally count among Mendelssohn's most successful examples. With this "coup de maître" – according to Stéphane Goldet, the writer of the accompanying text – the Hamburg composer demonstrated that his famous octet for strings from 1825 was no fluke. Moreover, this quartet also proves to be a deep bow towards Ludwig Van Beethoven, who died in March 1827, whose late string quartets had just been published. In that regard, Goldet points out, among other things, a little secret: a solemn, unison motif at the end of the slow introduction of opus 13 ("Adagio"), which Mendelssohn would have borrowed from the very beginning of the middle section of the piano sonata "Les Adieux" (opus 81a), titled "Abwesenheit". In a footnote she further doubts the otherwise common view that Mendelssohn would have used this specific motif for the first time in Frage, the opening song of his cycle opus 9, and more specifically at the words "Ist es wahr?". But that the string quartet might perhaps have been there first is clearly refuted by Felix himself in a letter to his friend, the Swedish composer Adolf Lindblad (1801-1878).
Moving and comforting at the same time, that is what Mendelssohn has in store for his listeners at the beginning of his 'first' string quartet in a minor. An intimate, deeply felt plea in which the Quatuor Van Kuijk immediately creates an excellent balance. This "Adagio" is not only a discreet stepping stone to what will become quite a turbulent half hour of music, but also a conclusion, as the composer suddenly revives this discourse at the very end of the quartet. In the "Allegro Vivace" that follows, the four musicians together create a whirling as well as intense audio play that also meets all the author's dynamic requirements. A clever and promising example of teamwork that continues seemingly effortlessly in both middle sections ("Adagio non lento" and "Allegretto con moto – Allegro di molto"). The striking fusion of voices in the ambiguous slow movement convinces just as much as the strikingly pulsating, somewhat agitated and grandiose "poco più animato". Thanks to the intermezzo, now the third movement, the performance continues to crescendo. This music is vintage Mendelssohn: a naive, subtle, but above all very gracefully plucked and bowed "Allegretto", with a playful trio in between. A wonderful dream from which it suddenly awakens through the opening of the finale – an ominous tremolo – ("Presto"). Ending in "Adagio non lento", this forms the crown of a sublime string quartet. "Une page étonnante, la plus complexe écrite par le jeune Mendelssohn", so it sounds in awe from Jean-Alexandre Ménétrier in the Guide de la musique de chambre (Fayard, 1989, p. 575). "Mendelssohn montre ici une maîtrise, une originalité de forme et de fond sans équivalent dans l'Europe de 1830, et s'affirme comme le premier héritier de Beethoven." During the succession of urgent passages, the Quatuor Van Kuijk chooses to maintain the pace above all, rather than sometimes playing more declamatory and thus more eloquent. It is a legitimate and certainly also consistent choice, which makes the meditative conclusion all the stronger.
Boring schoolboys versus virtuoso enthusiasts
In April 1829, Mendelssohn crossed the Channel for the first time towards England and Scotland. There, the budding twenty-year-old put the finishing touches to another string quartet on 14 September. On paper at least, for back home he let it be known that here and there some fine-tuning was still needed. This opus 12 was published roughly simultaneously with opus 13 in the autumn of 1830, albeit by different publishers, and today stands somewhat in the shadow of its younger sibling. The string quartets of Beethoven, both from the middle and late periods (opus 74 and 127) remain significant sources of inspiration for Felix, not least through the concise intro ("Adagio non troppo") and the lyrical "Allegro non tardante" that follows. But the storm that frequently reared its head in opus 13 has subsided and gives way to a predominantly harmonious tone of voice. The fluid phrasing of the empathetic Quatuor Van Kuijk is equally in line with how the composer has set them out in this almost carefree opening section. With the "Canzonetta", the most remarkable movement then resounds, in which a simple and somewhat archaic-sounding tune is interrupted by a trio that is typical of Mendelssohn, namely extremely light-footed. The melody is performed by the four gentlemen strictly in time and in a rather schoolish manner ("Allegretto"). With the intention of making the contrast with the piquant interlude ("più mosso") as great as possible? There is certainly something to be said for it, but as a result it also sounds rather dull. Then the contemplative "Andante espressivo", strikingly intonated, and especially the sparkling finale ("Molto allegro e vivace") leave a very different impression! Wave after wave and turn after turn, the quartet keeps up the pace spiritedly, without sacrificing accuracy for a moment, until a quotation from the first movement – the coda – lets the work fade away. Hats off!
On 28 March 1837, the wedding bells ring out in Frankfurt. The marriage between Mendelssohn and Cécile Jeanrenaud (1817-1853) also heralds a particularly fertile compositional period, during which chamber music will certainly receive due attention. No fewer than three quartets flow from his pen in a relatively short space of time (1837-1838), and will be grouped under the opus number 44. What today is listed as the first string quartet, in reality saw the light last, in the summer of 1838. The premiere was given on 16 February of the following year, and lay in the excellent hands of violinist Ferdinand David (1810-1873) and his colleagues from the Gewandhaus orchestra in Leipzig. Do you also sometimes wonder why this quartet in D major, like its two counterparts, is heard so rarely on concert stages today? It appears that even Schumann's string quartets (opus 41), which were inspired by Mendelssohn, enjoy more favour on the podium today. At any rate, it won't be due to the enthusiasm of the Quatuor Van Kuijk. That is clearly audible from the very first measures of the "Molto allegro vivace". It couldn't be otherwise, you might think, with such an unheralded surge of zest as the opening theme. Quite right, but once again the quartet manages to contain the enthusiasm in an effective way, and for more than 12 minutes, since the recapitulation is also observed. The same applies to the flawlessly virtuosic "Presto", which is certainly played "con brio" and with a great sense of timing. In a different way, the classical minuet ("Un poco allegretto") and the slow movement ("Andante espressivo ma con moto") likewise testify to a brilliant approach. In the minuet, there are of course the rolling figures in the first violin that stand out, whereas in the "Andante" both violins are interwoven with each other in an equally ingenious and transparent way to form a splendid Lied ohne Worte.
It is rather a pity that the unmistakable care in the ensemble playing has not carried through everywhere in this edition. The incorrect key for opus 13, which has already been mentioned. But beyond that, there are also several lapses in the cd booklet. Where, for example, is the second footnote in the English translation? Whereas in the German version the last footnote is missing. Fortunately, these are no more than minor points that pale in comparison to the polished and decisive way in which the actual musical score is rendered. And that is ultimately still the essence!
4.5/5
- WHAT: Mendelssohn. Complete string quartets. Volume 1. String quartets opus 12 in E flat, 13 in A minor and 44 no. 1 in D
- WHO: Quatuor Van Kuijk (Nicolas Van Kuijk [violin], Sylvain Favre-Bulle [violin], Emmanuel François [viola], Anthony Kondo [cello])
- EDITION: Alpha Classics, ALPHA 873
- ORDER: JPC