Cold, acerbic Schumann. Why?

I loved the Quatuor Hanson‘s two previous recordings for Aparte Records. So when I saw them doing Schumann on Harmonia Mundi, I wondered, why Schumann? Of all the string quartet repertoire which they haven’t even begun to explore yet, why Schumann? They must have a special affinity for his music.

Not hardly. Listening to them play this, that’s obviously not the case. Their playing is immaculate and cold – lacking warmth and expressiveness. They made the horrible decision to play much of this music almost entirely without vibrato. Or their usual sweetness of tone. And it is exacerbated by Harmonia Mundi‘s icy, grainy, close-up recorded sound. The word which comes most frequently to mind is acerbic. This is about as far removed from the rich, Romantic Schumann we all know and love as you can get. And again, I wonder why. 

When pianist Adam Laloum joins them for the Piano Quintet at the very end of the program, they manage to find some humanity in the music. And a touch of warmth. And I wonder why. Did Mr. Laloum insist on a more beautiful sound? (Perhaps.) Maybe the group just likes this piece more than the quartets. (Perhaps not.) While they do sound a bit more like we are used to hearing them play, it’s not enough. There is still an emotional detachment and cold perfection in their playing, which remains steadfastly vigorous without being invigorating.  And this reading in no way salvages the set.

Everything about this release is puzzling. Harmonia Mundi has already embarked on a series of Schumann chamber music featuring Isabelle Faust (including the Piano Quintet just last year [2023]), and one wonders why they decided to veer away from that fruitful partnership and turn to the Quatuor Hanson for the string quartets. The group’s change in record labels reminds me of another string quartet which I have greatly admired in the past – the Attacca Quartet. I thought their albums of music by John Adams and Caroline Shaw on small independent labels (Nonesuch and Azica) were simply awesome. And then they moved to SONY, and their debut album there is absolutely dreadful (“For All Joys”). And now something similar (although to a lesser degree) has happened with Quatuor Hanson after switching to a different/bigger label. And I continue to wonder why.
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Whatever the ill-advised reason for making this unnecessary recording, this is Schumann without much love. I tried it on two different occasions and hated it both times – not the music, but the music-making. To experience this music played with freshness, involvement and heartfelt expression, look no further than the 2019 recording (of the 3 quartets) played by the Dover Quartet on Azica Records. They bring precision and a glowing warmth to this music which the Hansons simply can’t begin to match.