Quatuor Ébène - Mozart: String Quartets (2011)

Quatuor Ébène has done it again. After offering not only pristine and passionate performances of Ravel, Debussy, Faure, Brahms and their recent adventure into FICTION they return to the classics. This well recorded (very presence oriented) recital is all Mozart and it is understandable that this brilliant French quartet would elect to publicly cleanse the palette after the foray into music inspired by Hollywood.
But prepare yourselves: this recital contains some of the most eloquent Mozart chamber music recorded. The quartet known to most - and the one they include most often when they are producing programs for touring is the String Quartet No. 19 - the 'Dissonance' Quartet. The name of course come form the opening Adagio/Allegro where the master indeed did write music that would centuries later be considered clam and tonal. Here the dissonances seem mild and merely interesting in other hands, but given the tendency of this ensemble's search for new truths, here the dissonances seem very modern and alive.
The Haydnesque Quartet No. 15 is airborne and the quartet plays with such clarity of tone that the sound seems to all come form the same set of strings. The phrasing and the intercommunication among the lads is stunning. The same can be said for the less often heard Divertimento in F major - a much earlier work but one piece that easily becomes a favorite by the end of the program.
It is so rare when chamber music is so well recorded as it is with the Quatuor Ébène. The closest comparison with quality is of course the recordings by Renaud and Gautier Capuçon. But that is another category. It is satisfying to know that the young artists are playing so well and causing such a positive reaction to classical music as these lads.