Lindsay String Quartet - Bartok: String Quartets Nos. 1-6 (2021)

Tracklist

01. String Quartet No. 1, BB 52, Op. 7, Sz. 40: 1. Lento
02. String Quartet No. 1, BB 52, Op. 7, Sz. 40: 2. Allegretto
03. String Quartet No. 1, BB 52, Op. 7, Sz. 40: 3. Introduzione. Allegro - Allegro vivace
04. String Quartet No. 2, BB 75, Op. 17, Sz. 67: 1. Moderato
05. String Quartet No. 2, BB 75, Op. 17, Sz. 67: 2. Allegro molto capriccioso
06. String Quartet No. 2, BB 75, Op. 17, Sz. 67: 3. Lento
07. String Quartet No. 3, BB 93, Sz. 85: 1. Prima parte. Moderato
08. String Quartet No. 3, BB 93, Sz. 85: 2. Seconda parte. Allegro
09. String Quartet No. 3, BB 93, Sz. 85: 3. Ricapitulazione della prima parte. Moderato
10. String Quartet No. 3, BB 93, Sz. 85: 4. Coda. Allegro molto
11. String Quartet No. 4, BB 95, Sz. 91: 1. Allegro
12. String Quartet No. 4, BB 95, Sz. 91: 2. Prestissimo, con sordino
13. String Quartet No. 4, BB 95, Sz. 91: 3. Non troppo lento
14. String Quartet No. 4, BB 95, Sz. 91: 4. Allegretto pizzicato
15. String Quartet No. 4, BB 95, Sz. 91: 5. Allegro molto
16. String Quartet No. 5, BB 110, Sz. 102: 1. Allegro
17. String Quartet No. 5, BB 110, Sz. 102: 2. Adagio molto
18. String Quartet No. 5, BB 110, Sz. 102: 3. Scherzo. Alla bulgarese
19. String Quartet No. 5, BB 110, Sz. 102: 4. Andante
20. String Quartet No. 5, BB 110, Sz. 102: 5. Finale. Allegro vivace - Presto
21. String Quartet No. 6, BB 119, Sz. 114: 1. Mesto - Piu mosso, pesante - Vivace
22. String Quartet No. 6, BB 119, Sz. 114: 2. Mesto - Marcia
23. String Quartet No. 6, BB 119, Sz. 114: 3. Mesto - Burletta. Moderato
24. String Quartet No. 6, BB 119, Sz. 114: 4. Mesto

The first digitally recorded Bartók quartet cycle, long unavailable: ferociously intelligent readings in superb sound that have stood the test of time against other classic interpretations in the storied discography of these works.

The Lindsays’ Bartók cycle, recorded by ASV in 1980–81, marked the culmination of a decade of intense study and concert performances of the cycle, much of it done in Hungary with eminent string players. Reviewers found that the acoustic of Rosslyn Hill Chapel in north London made an ideal complement to the Lindsays’ searching accounts, recorded in studio conditions but preserving the risk-and-reward strategy of their live performances. The Quartet’s charismatic leader was Peter Cropper, who outlined the group’s performing philosophy: ‘We did it because we loved it, and I think it came across. I don’t say it was always immaculate. Who wants perfection?’

Where previous benchmark recordings by native ensembles had majored on the spirit more than the letter of the score, however, the Lindsays’ attention to detail in this ASV cycle raised the curtain on a new era of interpretation for works that have evolved to reflect the zeitgeist as well as the troubled mind of their creator. As Sir Michael Tippett remarked: ‘The Lindsays are indeed the best friend a composer could have’.

Immaculate control in the compressed drama of the Third and violent eruptions of the Fourth hardly precludes a fine sense of the desolation in the finale of the Second and the heart-breaking resignation in the final pages of the Sixth. The full timbral palette of Bartók’s pizzicato-glissando effects, magical harmonies and muted sonorities is eloquently and elegantly captured in what was then innovative technology.

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