Everything that the Cherubini quartet and its members recorded for Emi between 1988 and 1999 is included in the 13-CD box set, in which the Germanic romantic repertoire shines in particular.
LThe Cherubini Quartett had already been practicing for ten years when they recorded for Emi in 1988 The seven last words of Christ by Haydn. This reading, prayerful and tearful, is the origin of a discography in which the classical repertoire will still be a bad relationship. Only a quintet for clarinet (1995, with Michel Portal) and four flute quartets (1999, with Emmanuel Pahud and Jean-Guihen Queyras on cello) would follow from Mozart. The complete Beethoven performance at the concert will unfortunately remain far from the microphone.
This is because the German ensemble, winner of the International Competition in Evian in 1981, finds its preferred terrain in early Romanticism, which it will illuminate with a sensitivity averse to grand outpourings, but with a subtle and convincing eloquence. In the Schuberts from 1989, this finesse favors the Viennese spirit Quartet no. 9 and not broken hearts Not. 14 ” Maiden and death “. But number 12 ” Quartettensatz » is already burning with a fever that will trigger, three years later, a painful introspection number 15.
Flame and transparency
Carried by a violin inspired by Christoph Poppen, Mendelssohn’s cycle (1989-1990) remains a reference. It combines flame and transparency in youth Opus 12 AND 13flexibility and formal rigor in three ofOpus 44elegance and expressive relief in the bottom line Opus 80. The inner voices that weave Schumann’s Three Quartets (1989) are explored with a rare lucidity shared by Christian Zacharias in quintet op. 44 (1991), at the cost of certain manners.
Until their breakup in 1995, the Cherubs stood out, together or separately, with their peers. Replacing Klaus Kämper in 1989, cellist Manuel Fischer-Dieskau follows his father Dietrich in the post-romantic damp Nocturnal de Schoeck (1990): the intact artistry of the speaker compensates for the wear and tear of the vocal means. Wolfgang Meyer’s clarinet stands out inOctet by Schubert ia Quartet for the end of time by Messiaen with Yvonne Loriod on keyboard. Their precise and sober interpretation is not the least advantage of the box set.
“The Cherubini Quartet. Warner Classics Complete Recordings. Warner, 13 CDs. Golden tuning fork