Prokofiev: String Quartet nr. 2

Back for a moment to where our string quartet journey started, with Prokofiev's Second Quartet, 'On Kabardinian Themes'. Previously I had listened to a recording with the Aurora String Quartet (on Naxos, not so good) and with the St Petersburg Quartet (on Delos, much beter). And now the amazing Pavel Haas Quartet. It's as if I hear the work for the very first time. Everything these guys touch seems to turn into gold. As in the Janacek what strikes is a supreme musicality that illuminates the contrapuntal fabric in the most moving way. There's a plasticity in the playing that keeps one as a listener enthralled.  These are musicians who put the work squarely at the centre. Whilst the technical mastery is abundantly in evidence, this is not about showing off a vapid kind of virtuosity. To the contrary I discern a deep modesty and respect for the music. This is very special.

In their hands, the Prokofiev quartet appears as a great, not merely a good work. The central adagio breathes a deeply felt thankfulness (Mira Mendelssohn!) and the finale bubbles with an exotic, fiery passion. The sound effects are very striking.

It seems to me that with the Haas, Belcea, Artemis and Mosaïques quartet ensembles we have the best of the contemporary crop in this genre. A confirmation of how deeply rooted in Central European culture this way of music making is. All of these ensembles basically hail from a 800 km wide band between Berlin and Bucharest (the Belcea technically is based in the UK, but with Corinna Belcea and Krzystof Chorzelski clearly has Central European roots).