Eroica Quartet - Schumann: String Quartets, Op. 41 (1999)

Though the members of the Eroica Quartet, formed in 1993, belong to various period-instrument groups in their native England, they have developed their own brand of performance practice: they play on gut strings, with sparing vibrato, but at normal pitch; the cellist uses an end-pin; the others use chin rests and shoulder pads. Moreover, instead of researching manuscripts and ur-texts, they consult early editions prepared by musicians active during the composers' lifetime, such as Mendelssohn's friend and adviser, the violinist Ferdinand David. Using his bowings and fingerings may give their performances "authenticity," but it is questionable whether the resulting innumerable slides and accents, which we have since learned how to avoid, are not ultimately to the detriment of the music. The Quartet is good; its taking over and interlacing of voices is excellent, its intonation almost perfect. The playing is warmly romantic and both lyrical and dramatic, but the accents are too aggressive, the liberties too planned. The Scherzos are sometimes a bit heavy, perhaps to avoid sounding Mendelssohnian. The popular third quartet is unusually inward at the expense of its rapturous ecstasy. The cellist struggles with his high register, the Finale is rough and quite unrhythmical, the problematic transitions between the sections lack poise and smoothness. The second, least familiar quartet comes off best: it is elegantly phrased and gracious, and the all-pervasive syncopation is handled very well. -- Edith Eisler