It may seem a surprise to see the
String Quartet No. 1
of
Stephen Hough
on the program of this release by the
Takacs Quartet
;
Hough
is better known as a pianist and as a composer better known for piano works, and the other two works on the album are French, but in fact, the choice works beautifully.
's quartet is subtitled "
Les six rencontres
" ("
The Six Meetings
"), which refers not only to its six sharply profiled movements but also to the group of 1920s French composers called Les Six. They are evoked in the music, and fans of the period can have a lot of fun tracing the individual references, but what impresses generally is that
's piece can stand with the work of the bigger names here,
Henri Dutilleux
and
Maurice Ravel
.
Dutilleux
's
Ainsi la nuit
, also in six movements, may be the highlight here, merging the French tradition with Webernian rigor in lots of difficult pizzicato writing. The
excels in these passages, delivering a vast dynamic range from edgy fortes to near silence. The
Ravel
String Quartet in F major
is also very strong, with a gorgeous noctural slow movement that connects elegantly to the
Hyperion
adds to the delights with excellent sound from Colorado's Lone Tree Arts Center on a release that rightfully hit classical best-seller charts in early 2023. ~ James Manheim