Ernő Dohnányi; Zoltán Kodály - String Quartets (Guarneri Quartet)

Information

Composer: Ernő Dohnányi; Zoltán Kodály

• Dohnányi - String Quartet No. 2 in D flat major, Op. 15
• Kodály - String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10
• Dohnányi - String Quartet No. 3 in A minor, Op. 33

Guarneri Quartet

    Arnold Steinhardt, violin

    John Dalley, violin

    Michael Tree, viola

    Peter Wiley, cello

Date: 2009

Label: RCA

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Review

The Guarneri Quartet, one of the longest-standing, most respected string quartets in modern times, released this 2009 album -- entitled The Hungarian Album -- in the same year as its departure from the world's stage. Apart from a long and storied history, and the musical luminaries with whom the group has collaborated, one of the most notable achievements of the Guarneri is membership retention, having switched out only one member (cellist David Soyer being replaced with Peter Wiley) since the group's founding in 1964. This type of long-standing collaboration results in a nearly universally reliable aspect of performance: unity of vision and seamless communication. This same level of personal connection is evident on the disc. The three quartets heard here were recorded several years prior to its release, but the effects of time on the ensemble's technical acumen are evident. While the deep musical introspection and profound interpretive abilities remain intact, intonation is often a struggle in these three challenging and rarely heard quartets of Ernö Dohnányi and Zoltán Kodály. Longtime fans of the quartet will certainly be able to overlook this deterioration in the Guarneri's abilities, but newcomers to the ensemble may find the frequent nebulousness of a pitch center rather off-putting. Apart from this, however, the Guarneri Quartet delivers a stunningly rich Hungarian sound, filled with intensity and relentlessness one moment only to be followed with eerie stillness and elegance the next. The Hungarian Album may not be the swan song disc the Guarneri was hoping for, but it still represents a valuable and worthwhile addition to the recorded legacy of this venerable chamber music ensemble.

— Mike D. Brownell

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Ernő Dohnányi (27 July 1877 – 9 February 1960) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and conductor. Dohnányi studied in Budapest at the Royal Academy of Music. As a pianist he traveled widely and established a reputation as one of the best performers of his day. In 1948 he left Hungary as a political exile and became a U.S. citizen in 1955. Dohnányi's music, which was chiefly influenced by Johannes Brahms, was late Romantic and conservative in style, and after 1910 he occupied only a minor place among contemporary Hungarian composers. His works include three symphonies, a ballet, three operas, and chamber works.

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Zoltán Kodály (16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a prominent Hungarian composer. He was also an important figure who contributed heavily to music education in Hungary. As a composer, Kodály created an individual style that was derived from Hungarian folk music, contemporary French music, and the religious music of the Italian Renaissance. His notable works, many of which are widely performed, include Psalmus Hungaricus (1923), the opera Háry János (1926), Marosszék Dances (1930), Dances of Galánta (1933), Te Deum (1936), Concerto for Orchestra (1941), Symphony in C Major (1961), and chamber music.

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The Guarneri Quartet was an American string quartet founded in 1964 at the Marlboro Music School and Festival. Until the year 2000, the Quartet consisted of the same four players who comprised the group at its founding: Arnold Steinhardt (violin), John Dalley (violin), Michael Tree (viola) and David Soyer (cello). In 2000, Peter Wiley replaced David Soyer as the group's cellist. The Guarneri Quartet has garnered numerous awards, including many for its traversal of the 16 Beethoven quartets (and Grosse Fugue) for RCA. The ensemble has also reached its audiences via numerous radio broadcasts and television appearances.

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