Raff String Quartets Nos. 1 & 5

[Alan Howe]

...forthcoming from cpo:
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/joachim-raff-streichquartette-nr-1-5/hnum/8992775

[Mark Thomas]

This CD completes the cpo cycle. It's good to have a second recording of No.5 and a third of No.1.

[Alan Howe]

Release date has now slipped to 7th March.

[Mark Thomas]

My order shipped yesterday.

[Alan Howe]

Part of my order has shipped, but not the Raff.

[Mark Thomas]

Won't be long, I'm sure.

[Alan Howe]

Once or twice I seem to have received a cpo release pretty quickly and then seen that its release date has been put back - as if there are a few copies on sale earlier than the bulk of them.

[Mark Thomas]

Yes, the same thing has happened to me. On this occasion I now realise that I got the despatch email yesterday, a Sunday, so I do wonder....

[Mark Thomas]

But now, having not received the CD, I've just got another despatch email, so I guess the first one was a mistake. Heigh ho.

[Alan Howe]

My jpc order shipped today.

Maybe you'll get two...

[Alan Howe]

My copy has now arrived. I've gone straight to the performance of the 1st Quartet which sounds very fine to me. I'm always struck by the sheer mastery of this work - it has such passion and energy. I believe it's superior to any of Brahms' quartets; in fact two of the finest works from the 19th century in the genre are both pretty well unsung, i.e. this and Draeseke's 2nd. Heresy? Maybe, but I keep coming back to them, so...

[Mark Thomas]

My copy arrived yesterday too. There is very little to choose between the performance of either quartet from cpo's Mannheim and MD&G's Leipzig Quartets, both groups give really excellent interpretations. However, on first hearing of this new CD I marginally prefer the Leipzigers who seem a little less driven and rather more flexible in their dynamics and tempi. That may well change with familiarity and I don't think you'd go wrong with either.

[eschiss1]

While I rate Brahms' string quartets highly, many do not and so the Inquisition is unlikely to be called to order, but other quartets from the 3rd quarter of the 19th and the same general geographic area might be suggested as better comparisons-
That said, I also agree that Raff's earliest surviving quartet and Draeseke's E minor are terrific, memorable (even earworm-ish), powerful works, even deserving repertoire status, and far more than the 3 and 2 (counting for both at least 1 public performance that has circulated, on YouTube in Draeseke 2's case) recordings they've received to date