Glazunov: String quartet no 4

Day 116

Glazunov: String quartet no 4

Utrecht string quartet

This is the last in this small series of chamber music from the post-Tchaikovsky generation of Russian composers.  Glazunov is a composer that I have a little experience of. I conducted his saxophone concerto a few years ago and I recall hearing the violin concerto, but other than perhaps the odd ballet extract I don't think I have heard anything more.

I chose this quartet at random from the seven he wrote: I don't know if I was particularly lucky but I thought that this was an absolutely delightful piece. By some distance it was the most enjoyable of all of the Russian quartets I have been listening to in this sequence.  The music flowed naturally and Glazunov was in complete control of his material. All of the movements were highly attractive but perhaps the highlight was the sherzo-like third movement which had a Mendelssonian lightness of touch and an irresistible charm.

The harmonic language is relative conservative for a piece written in 1894 - there's nothing much here that Schumann couldn't have written - but from a distance now of over 130 years that hardly matters. Quality is what counts and this quartet has it in abundance.

So my exploration of Russian chamber music comes to a halt, at least for now. Next I will be listening to some American symphonies.