Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936)
String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 1 (1881–82)
String Quartet No. 2 in F major, Op. 10 (1884)
String Quartet No. 3 in G major, Op. 26 “The Slavonic” (1886–88)
Tippett Quartet
rec. 2024, St George’s Headstone, Harrow, London
Naxos 8.574716 [81]
Sadly, if I was asked to name the music Alexander Glazunov is best known for, I would probably suggest Rachmaninoff’s First Symphony, which almost destroyed the career of the young Sergei before it began because of Glazunov’s chaotic conducting (the rumour that he was drunk has never been quashed). Glazunov’s violin concerto dominates his discography – Presto lists more than 100 recordings of it – so if you didn’t know that he wrote seven string quartets, you wouldn’t be alone. This would appear to be only the second recording of the first two quartets, and the third only has a handful.
The first two are works of his teenage years, so should be assessed in those terms. The first apparently has Russian nationalist influences throughout, and won him the 1884 Glinka Prize, announcing him as a rising star in Russian musical circles. It is certainly an impressive work for a sixteen year-old, but in absolute terms, is somewhat lacking in melodic interest. The F major quartet shows a considerable advance in his confidence and compositional skill. The Dvořákian slow movement develops passion and intensity, and while there is a sense that it goes on a little too long in places, it is the best movement of the first two works. The third quartet, the product of his early twenties, requires no special pleading based on age: it is a really fine work, full of Slavonic melodies and rhythms. I find its relative anonymity hard to understand; only in its overly long final movement does inspiration start to fade. While it is too much of a stretch to compare it to the work of genius that is Dvořák’s “American” Quartet, it is in the same part of the Venn diagram, and I certainly enjoyed it more than any of Tchaikovsky’s three.
Even in the three years of our new site, the Tippett Quartet has garnered several reviews – all very favourable – and I have another of theirs on my to-review list, that being works by the contemporary American Carson Cooman, so the ensemble is clearly much in demand, as well as versatile. I couldn’t imagine better advocacy of these works than is provided here. There is energy, humour and tenderness in these performances that makes the works really shine, yes, even the First. The sound quality is good, as are the booklet notes.
One imagines that the remaining four will be along in due course, perhaps supplemented by a few works for the same combination, and maybe even the String Quintet. This first volume is certainly a fine way to investigate this little-known corner of Glazunov’s output.
David Barker
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