Fifty years after it was founded, the Talich Quartet constitutes a benchmark ensemble.

Over a period of fifty years, the Talich have revealed a style, an approach, a philosophy of music that the current line-up perpetuates and fructifies. Its hallmarks are lightness of tone, spontaneity of expression, unexpected accents, and an innate feeling for allusions to folk music.

Talich Quartet (1964-2014): Lightness of touch

Publiée originellement chez Calliope, l’intégrale Beethoven des Talich est rééditée dans un coffret de sept disques. Cette somme est celle des certitudes paisibles, d’un Beethoven ni visionnaire, ni vindicatif, plus humain plus que démiurge. Intime et posée, l’expression peut même en devenir trop prudente, cette tranquillité devenant même rédhibitoire dans les menuets, voire dans certains scherzos (Huitième). Tout emballement n’est pas exclu – codas du Quatrième ou du Neuvième – mais sans le moindre effet gratuit, tant le Quatuor Talich, d’une cohésion sans faille autour de son premier violon, Petr Messiereur (à l’intonation néanmoins parfois contestable), maîtrise le propos et maintient, de l’Opus 18 à l’Opus 135, une cohérence d’une rare fermeté.
Car voilà assurément un travail exigeant, qui, peut-être par atavisme, laisse souvent affleurer à la surface des sentiments plus tendres et qui trouve à s’épanouir de manière particulièrement impressionnante dans les derniers Quatuors.

Beethoven : intégrale des Quatuors à cordes

13e Quatuor en si bémol majeur op.130 - Alla danza tedesca (Allegro assai)

BEETHOVEN - Quatuor à cordes n°13, op.130 (alla danza tedesca)

Brahms composed two string sextets, in which he paid tribute to three composers he revered, Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert, as well as exploring a musical genre that had rarely been used before, and also new harmonies. At their best, Brahms’ sextets can demonstrate why it is that playing or listening to chamber music can be as totally absorbing, overwhelming, and ultimately satisfying as an experience with the largest symphonic works. 

Without any doubt, a beautiful achievement!

BRAHMS, String Sextet no.1 in B flat major, op.18 (Scherzo. Allegro molto)

Two exceptionally fine performances here: Yakov Kasman can be a wild player, but in Shostakovich's Quintet he is as persuasive in passages of dark introspection as in the clamorous rhetoric that comes so naturally to him. The Talich Quartet are equal partners in a multi-faceted reading of a work whose full expressive range is rarely so convincingly.

45 minutes is very short measure, but the standard of performance is outstanding.     

SHOSTAKOVICH, Piano quintet in G minor, op.57 (Scherzo)

String quartet no.12 in F major, op.96, ‘American’
String quintet in e flat major, op.97
JIRI ZIGMUND, viola


Talich’s readings bristle with life, tempos are marginally faster than usual, and ensemble is razor-sharp, rhythmically buoyant, and richly detailed. The players manage to deliver tonal beauty, an abundance of detail, lively phrasing, and a strong sense of structure to the work, qualities not always easy to reconcile. La Dolce Volta provides engineering to match the performances: warm, vibrant, with a you-are-there presence. 

For this pairing the Talich reigns supreme!


DVOŘÁK, String quartet no.12 in F major, op.96, ‘american’ (Molto vivace)

JANÁČEK, String quartet no.1, ‘Kreutzer Sonata’
JANÁČEK, String quartet no.2, ‘intimate letters’
SCHULHOFF, String quartet no.1

These are glowing performances. The restrained, sympathetic playing of the Talich Quartet in both Janáček quartets, plus the warmth and balance of this recording make this an uplifting, highly desirable disc. The Talich’s instinctive feel for the music and mutual understanding shines through every bar, and its pacing is beautifully judged.
The First Quartet by Erwin Schulhoff proves a considerable bonus. The ending is pure enchantment.

JANÁČEK, String quartet no.1, ‘Kreutzer Sonata’ (Adagio)

Major discoveries!
These three string quartets have much to offer in their charming melodies, strong rhythms, and pleasant moods. They deserve some critical attention as representative examples of early nineteenth century "brilliant" quartets, works composed for concert performance that usually featured a dazzling part for the first violin. 
The Talich Quartet delivers these bonbons with a light touch, and the engaging character of these pieces comes through in the group's agreeable repartee and buoyant energy, which is especially lively in the Scherzo movements. Sound is exceptional, so the strings feel vibrant and sharply defined in a warm and resonant environment.

KALLIWODA, String quartet no.1 in E minor, op.61

A lively yet sensitive, generously coupled disc
Here is a set of brilliant but not dazzling performances of Mendelssohn’s Op 44 Quartets: that is to say, they illuminate the music but never blind the listener with empty demonstration of the player’s virtuosity. This outstanding reissue offers terrific playing and outstanding sound. The interpretations are spontaneous enough to seem live.

“Typically feisty playing from this outstanding Czech Quartet who project the quasi-orchestral opening of the D major with vigour and provide plenty of passion and urgency for the darker E minor. An incredible bargain” (BBC Music Magazine)

MENDELSSOHN, String quartet no.3 in D major, op.44 no.1 (Molto allegro vivace)

FIRST RELEASE ON CD
Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade no.13 for strings in G major, K525)
Adagio and Fugue in c minor, K546
Divertimenti for strings K.136-138

‘With the Talich Quartet, this intimate Mozart sings and smiles, weeps and dreams, experiences despair and exhilaration. The Quartet’s unusually tense yet sensuous interpretation forces one’s admiration. Rarely has Mozart playing so judiciously achieved plenitude, displayed such joy and charm. Everything here is happiness and luminosity. A state of grace, as it were.’

MOZART, Eine kleine Nachtmusik k525 (Menuetto : allegretto)

SMETANA, String quartet no.1 in e minor, ‘From My life’
SMETANA, String quartet no.2 in D minor
FIBICH, String quartet in A major

Talich Quartet’s performances offer highly satisfying rewards.
The Quartet No. 2, “Intimate Letters is a piece brimming over with passion and powerful emotions, and that’s the way the Talich played it, with white-heat intensity. Violist Vladmir Bukac again excelled in the important viola part, projecting it with an irresistibly big, velvety tone.

“The performances of the Smetana Quartets are among the best that are available.” (BBC Music Magazine) 

SMETANA, String quartet no.1 in e minor, ‘From My life’ (Allegro vivo appassionato)

For Haydn, the challenge of the length of the movements was all the greater in that he had to avoid the feeling of repetitiousness inherent in seven sections at uniformly slow tempos. The quasi-symphonic force of this work for just four instruments opened up completely new perspectives for the composers of the first half of the nineteenth century.

‘The refined sound of the Talich leaves room for long, eloquent silences, illustrating a text that is never pronounced, yet whose words are borne with detachment by every single note, like the burden of serenity.’ 

HAYDN, The seven Last Words of christ (Introduzione. Maestoso ed Adagio)

Creativity is not something that can be turned on and off like a tap . . . 
Art is a labour of love, a question of patience and concentration. To place demands on it, criteria, quotas, damages it, slowly kills it. Art, like nature, must be allowed to develop and to grow, in order to attain plenitude. Following this principle, La Dolce Volta prefers to privilege quality over quantity. Releases are limited to ten albums a year, but each of them is the fruit of in-depth work, and above all a special relationship between the soloist and the composer. The artists’ virtuosity is coupled with their ineffable and highly personal approach, a feeling that can only be expressed through music. 
And since jewels worthy of the name can only be offered in special cases, the albums La Dolce Volta releases are themselves works of art: each record cover is an original work of art; the digipack’s inner sleeve includes a booklet in four languages and an interview with the musician. A bandeau is wrapped around each album, on which is printed the name of the soloist, the name of the composer, and the work performed. 
For La Dolce Volta, music is not just a shrink-wrapped object for sale. Like all beautiful things in life, it must come to fruition naturally, the result of careful craftsmanship, and offered like an exquisite flower. 
For La Dolce Volta music is a question of elegance and beauty without concessions.

Talich Quartet (1964-2014): Lightness of touch

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