Emerson String Quartet - Dvorák, Smetana: String Quartets (2007)

After the excitement of hearing their bracing Bartok cycle (the Gramophone Record of the Year in 1989), I've found the Emerson's subsequent releases more than a little disappointing. ''Cold and abrasive'' was my verdict on their Beethoven/Schubert when I reviewed it for BBC Radio 3's ''Saturday Review'', and it stands. But the Smetana on this new disc is more encouraging. I'm not sure about the gutsy portamentos in the viola's opening solo, still less when the violin takes up this figure at the climax of the finale, and yes, there is a certain coldness in the wonderful Largo sostenuto theme, and abrasiveness in one or two of the more sharply accented tuttis, but I still found the performance compelling. Unlike the Endellion Quartet on their Virgin Classics recording, the involvement doesn't fluctuate—in fact there's strong dramatic cogency. The Emerson don't strive for big effects at the expense of narrative—Smetana's story may sound darker and less picturesque than one expects, but it does have shape. Is that enough compensation? Probably not, but it does make the interpretation challenging, and well worth hearing.
The Emerson work hard to make their version of the much-recorded American Quartet special, and it's full of good ideas. Dvorak's plentiful markings are taken very seriously, and every solo is shaped with great care and primed for the optimum expressive effect. So why doesn't it work? Perhaps precisely because one can hear the thought behind it all, and perhaps also because in one or two passages the players simply push too hard. There's little of the naturalness of the Quartetto Italiano (Philips) or the unforced generosity of the Janacek Quartet's Decca version. It is those two—both available on good mid-price reissues—which remain my top recommendations, despite the older, relatively low-tech sound. As yet, no modern version has matched them.