5/9/2023 0 Comments Sibelius string quartetsThe inexorable motion of the opening movement, for instance, is compelling in its trajectory from the deceptively simple antiphony of the opening phrases to the rich thrumming of the fully-scored chords at the close. Recorded in the grateful acoustic of Melbourne’s Wyselaskie Auditorium by veteran producer Stephen Snelleman, the Flinders’ is a terrific account of the work’s overall architecture and internal drama. This might account for the overall tone of the work, but as we know from the much discussed conversation between Sibelius and Mahler in 1907, Sibelius stressed the need for ‘severity of style and profound logic’ in composition, and the D minor quartet is also ground-breaking in terms of his technique. 132 – the convalescent hasn’t yet found reason for a holy song of thanksgiving. In five movements, it might be a kind of ‘dark double’ to Beethoven’s Quartet Op. He was hounded by thoughts of mortality, made worse by his sister’s worsening mental illness. In the event he underwent over ten bouts of surgery to remove the growth and for some time at least gave up smoking and drinking. Despite enjoying some success as a composer – his music was starting to be held up, in the Anglosphere in particular as a counter to the neuroses of nasty modern music – by 1908 he was in financial difficulties owing to severe alcoholism moreover he developed a tumour in the throat which, given that he was an enthusiastic cigar-smoker, he was convinced was cancer. It dates from 1909, so is written in the wake of the Third Symphony. The D minor quartet, Op.56, whose subtitle gives the CD its title, is the only chamber work of Sibelius that, so far, has had repertoire status, and indeed is the only chamber work of his maturity. That the performances were warmly received comes as no surprise listening to this recent release, which the quartet must have finished recording minutes before rushing off to Tullamarine Airport. Not that we do too badly, and it was a matter of some pride that that the Flinders Quartet (certainly a group of eminent Victorians) was invited to perform the complete quartet-based chamber music of Sibelius in 2015 at a festival in his homeland. We have a similar-sized population in a comparable if slightly smaller area why not have a world-beating public education system, a musical culture that reveres its great conductors and composers, and about 350 annual arts festivals? Flinders Quartet We could be the Finland of the South Seas. I mean, the state’s economy is doing well, we have a variety of stunning landscapes, great primary produce, an elegant capital city with a wonderful cultural life and terrific food. It has been hard to get any traction but every so often I throw out on social media that Victoria should secede. Reviewed by: Gordon Kerry “The Flinders Quartet offers beautiful readings of Sibelius’ masterful D minor quartet and the early breakthrough work in A minor.”
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