Here we have another recording of the wonderful Meccore String Quartet, featuring playing of consummate refinement. I am not familiar with these works, and if the music isn’t the most engrossing I’ve heard from this group, it is still rewarding to hear string quartet playing at its finest.
This recording comes from the Prelude Classics label, founded by the quartet’s violist, Michal Bryla. Bryla is also the producer and recording engineer. And what an impressive endeavor it is! There is a comprehensive booklet which explores the composers and the music, and also includes extensive information about the musicians, including details about the instruments each plays, as well as a thorough specifics about the recording technology used. So I can touch on these aspects as well.
Let’s start with the Paderewski Variations, which comes second on the CD, but is important in that it is the premier recording of an unpublished work, discovered in the 1980s. The individual parts were prepared by members of the Meccore Quartet directly from the manuscript score. The piece sounds typical of music written in the late 19th Century, with a very traditional set of 15 short variations, all in the same key, each with a clear beginning and end (i.e. they do not continuously flow into one another). This music often reminds me very much of Schubert, and even Beethoven. The variations themselves do not vary markedly in mood or character, and thus are not particularly captivating; nor are they imaginatively scored. (One variation near the end does at least introduce pizzicato). However, I was constantly drawn into the glorious quality of the playing. From the very opening statement of the Theme, the group’s legato is remarkable. And elsewhere, the lovely singing lines – especially from the 1st violin – provide much enjoyment. In all truthfulness, it is the very short (2 minute) Fugue at the very end which I found the most creative and interesting.
One minor production quibble, the Variations are not individually tracked, nor are they listed in the booklet. I would have found this beneficial.
The Wieniawski is another rarity (I can find only one other recording of it – on a 2023 DUX release) which I found to be more rewarding musically. This was composed not by the well-known Henryk, but by his younger brother, Jozef. Written in the same year as Paderewski’s Variations (1882), Wieniawski’s String Quartet is much more compositionally interesting. It too is traditionally crafted – late Classical in structure and firmly rooted in Romantic harmonic expression. The 1st movement Allegro con brio also reminds me a bit of Schubert, but with an irresistible, propulsive energy. While the 2nd is reminiscent of Tchaikovsky’s own Andante cantabile – though Wieniawski can get a little wayward in the central section with its meandering noodling which doesn’t really add much interest.
A somewhat cumbersome (rather than delightful) waltz occupies the Scherzo, again sounding very much like Tchaikovsky, and introduces another wondrous violin melody in the central section. The final Allegro energetic returns us to some of the poignant melodrama of Tchaikovsky, though without being burdened down with too much fervor. It is played with compelling light and dark shadings of texture and dynamics.
While I began to enjoy (and more fully appreciate) both works much more during a second and third listen, ultimately it is the superb playing of the wonderful Meccore String Quartet which brings the most pleasure.
The booklet tells us that, for this recording, 1st violinist Wojciech Koprowski plays an original 1846 Charles Francois Fand violin used by Henryk Wieniawski himself, while the remainder of the group plays their usual complement of modern-day reproductions made by Krzysztof Krupa. (There is a fascinating documentary video on YouTube which details the making of these instruments for members of the Meccore Quartet, complete with interviews with Krupa himself.) I am always struck by the sheer loveliness of Mr. Koprowski’s sound, and this recording is no exception. Learning he uses a different violin here, I might perceive his tone as being slightly more “authentic” (or “period”) – being perhaps just a touch less rich and more coarsely textured than I typically hear from him. (Though I noted a similar sound from the viola as well, which is likely merely a playing style appropriate for music from this period.) This is a subtle observation; I enjoyed his glorious singing lines enormously throughout both works, and therefore can simply conclude Koprowski is an absolutely wonderful violinist no matter which violin he plays!
As to the recorded sound, the booklet details the technology utilized for this recording, which is interesting reading. Utilizing the celebrated (but rarely used) Decca Tree microphone bundling, Mr. Bryla has made every effort to make the most natural-sounding recording possible. And as such, he has succeeded – though this is a different sound from that heard on the group’s previous “Paris Polonais” CD from Chopin University Press. The overall transfer level here is quite high (requiring me to turn the volume down several notches from my normal listening level), affording the group a rather up-front perspective and revealing a slightly more textured string sound than usually heard from them. Though placed within a pleasing, reverberant acoustic, there is a barely discernible “empty hall” quality which isn’t quite as natural-sounding as it could be (though this was less noticeable on headphones). Fortunately, it is not terribly distracting and the ear soon adjusts.
The production overall is excellent. As mentioned above, the booklet is a tour de force, including highly attractive pictures of the musicians in entertaining, candid shots. And the disc is an impressive multi-channel hybrid SACD/CD – though with a rather short playing time of just 46 minutes, I would have expected another piece to have been included. Nonetheless, this disc is valuable for the unusual repertoire and stylish, elegant string quartet playing.
This recording comes from the Prelude Classics label, founded by the quartet’s violist, Michal Bryla. Bryla is also the producer and recording engineer. And what an impressive endeavor it is! There is a comprehensive booklet which explores the composers and the music, and also includes extensive information about the musicians, including details about the instruments each plays, as well as a thorough specifics about the recording technology used. So I can touch on these aspects as well.
Let’s start with the Paderewski Variations, which comes second on the CD, but is important in that it is the premier recording of an unpublished work, discovered in the 1980s. The individual parts were prepared by members of the Meccore Quartet directly from the manuscript score. The piece sounds typical of music written in the late 19th Century, with a very traditional set of 15 short variations, all in the same key, each with a clear beginning and end (i.e. they do not continuously flow into one another). This music often reminds me very much of Schubert, and even Beethoven. The variations themselves do not vary markedly in mood or character, and thus are not particularly captivating; nor are they imaginatively scored. (One variation near the end does at least introduce pizzicato). However, I was constantly drawn into the glorious quality of the playing. From the very opening statement of the Theme, the group’s legato is remarkable. And elsewhere, the lovely singing lines – especially from the 1st violin – provide much enjoyment. In all truthfulness, it is the very short (2 minute) Fugue at the very end which I found the most creative and interesting.
One minor production quibble, the Variations are not individually tracked, nor are they listed in the booklet. I would have found this beneficial.
The Wieniawski is another rarity (I can find only one other recording of it – on a 2023 DUX release) which I found to be more rewarding musically. This was composed not by the well-known Henryk, but by his younger brother, Jozef. Written in the same year as Paderewski’s Variations (1882), Wieniawski’s String Quartet is much more compositionally interesting. It too is traditionally crafted – late Classical in structure and firmly rooted in Romantic harmonic expression. The 1st movement Allegro con brio also reminds me a bit of Schubert, but with an irresistible, propulsive energy. While the 2nd is reminiscent of Tchaikovsky’s own Andante cantabile – though Wieniawski can get a little wayward in the central section with its meandering noodling which doesn’t really add much interest.
A somewhat cumbersome (rather than delightful) waltz occupies the Scherzo, again sounding very much like Tchaikovsky, and introduces another wondrous violin melody in the central section. The final Allegro energetic returns us to some of the poignant melodrama of Tchaikovsky, though without being burdened down with too much fervor. It is played with compelling light and dark shadings of texture and dynamics.
While I began to enjoy (and more fully appreciate) both works much more during a second and third listen, ultimately it is the superb playing of the wonderful Meccore String Quartet which brings the most pleasure.
The booklet tells us that, for this recording, 1st violinist Wojciech Koprowski plays an original 1846 Charles Francois Fand violin used by Henryk Wieniawski himself, while the remainder of the group plays their usual complement of modern-day reproductions made by Krzysztof Krupa. (There is a fascinating documentary video on YouTube which details the making of these instruments for members of the Meccore Quartet, complete with interviews with Krupa himself.) I am always struck by the sheer loveliness of Mr. Koprowski’s sound, and this recording is no exception. Learning he uses a different violin here, I might perceive his tone as being slightly more “authentic” (or “period”) – being perhaps just a touch less rich and more coarsely textured than I typically hear from him. (Though I noted a similar sound from the viola as well, which is likely merely a playing style appropriate for music from this period.) This is a subtle observation; I enjoyed his glorious singing lines enormously throughout both works, and therefore can simply conclude Koprowski is an absolutely wonderful violinist no matter which violin he plays!
As to the recorded sound, the booklet details the technology utilized for this recording, which is interesting reading. Utilizing the celebrated (but rarely used) Decca Tree microphone bundling, Mr. Bryla has made every effort to make the most natural-sounding recording possible. And as such, he has succeeded – though this is a different sound from that heard on the group’s previous “Paris Polonais” CD from Chopin University Press. The overall transfer level here is quite high (requiring me to turn the volume down several notches from my normal listening level), affording the group a rather up-front perspective and revealing a slightly more textured string sound than usually heard from them. Though placed within a pleasing, reverberant acoustic, there is a barely discernible “empty hall” quality which isn’t quite as natural-sounding as it could be (though this was less noticeable on headphones). Fortunately, it is not terribly distracting and the ear soon adjusts.
The production overall is excellent. As mentioned above, the booklet is a tour de force, including highly attractive pictures of the musicians in entertaining, candid shots. And the disc is an impressive multi-channel hybrid SACD/CD – though with a rather short playing time of just 46 minutes, I would have expected another piece to have been included. Nonetheless, this disc is valuable for the unusual repertoire and stylish, elegant string quartet playing.
