Petersen Quartett - Ravel / Milhaud / Lekeu / Chausson (2003) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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Petersen Quartett - Ravel / Milhaud / Lekeu / Chausson (2003) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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Petersen Quartett - Ravel / Milhaud / Lekeu / Chausson
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 360 MB | Full Artwork: 72 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Capriccio # 71 002 | Country/Year: Germany 2003
Genre: Classical | Style: Quartet, Romantic, Early 20th Century

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Petersen Quartett - Ravel / Milhaud / Lekeu / Chausson (2003) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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The excellent Petersen Quartet kicks off a CD of French and Belgian works from a period surrounding the turn of the 20th century with the 20-year-old Milhaud’s First String Quartet (17 more were to follow). The work predates his discovery of jazz and South American idioms and compared to his later jeux d’esprit is a shade earnest, crouching in the shadow of Debussy and Ravel. Despite plenty of fiery outbursts and a rousing finale, it is strangely forgettable, but is played by the Petersen with no less conviction for all that. For works by the short-lived Belgian Guillaume Lekeu and Chausson’s ravishing Chanson perpétuelle, it is joined by soprano Juliane Banse and pianist Wolfram Rieger. Banse’s words are sometimes indistinct, but what a glorious sound she makes, full-bodied and pure of tone, a seductive interpreter of pieces that deserve to be better known. The Petersen’s reading of the Ravel is brisk and nervous, played with barely suppressed excitement and a wiry tension that keeps one on the edge of one’s seat. The listener almost starts to question what will happen next, which in such a well-aired piece has to be seen as something of a feat. Christopher Wood ~classical-music.com

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Petersen Quartett - Ravel / Milhaud / Lekeu / Chausson (2003) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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Review by James Leonard
While the Petersen Quartet has recorded all sorts of repertoire since it signed with Capriccio in the middle '90s, this disc of French quartets from the fin de siècle is still something of a departure. Because while Beethoven and Schubert and Shostakovich all require the same sort of earnest commitment and intense attitude, Milhaud, Lekeu, Chausson, and Ravel are an entirely different bouillabaisse. This is not to say that they don't demand commitment; they do, but a completely different kind of commitment – an objective yet more personal commitment. And this is not to say that they don't require an attitude; they do, but a wholly different attitude – a lighter yet just as intense attitude. And, incredibly, the Petersen can make the switch. While no one would ever mistake it for a French-born quartet – it's too in-tune for that – the Petersen still sounds like it's under the skin of the music. Its Milhaud First Quartet sounds suave, sophisticated, and sincere, while its Ravel quartet sounds cool, lucid, and lyrical, that is to say, utterly idiomatic. Even better are its recordings of Lekeu's Nocturne and Fragment, as well as Chausson's Chanson perpétuelle with soprano Juliane Banse. A protégé of Brigitte Fassbaender, Banse has the clear tone, the superb diction, and the passionate delivery to make these slender but hot-blooded works sound entirely enchanting. Capriccio's super audio sound is as clean and detailed as its conventional sound, but even deeper and warmer. ~allmusicguide

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Petersen Quartett - Ravel / Milhaud / Lekeu / Chausson (2003) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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Petersen Quartett - Ravel / Milhaud / Lekeu / Chausson (2003) {Hybrid-SACD // EAC Rip}

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