Review By Richard A. Kaplan,Fanfare,September 2012
The First Quartet, op. 7…is an attractive work, strongly Brahmsian in flavor…
Israel’s Aviv Quartet plays these…difficult scores superlatively well. Their playing throughout is razor-sharp and thoroughly in sync with the music’s varying moods and styles. Every top-flight string quartet seems to have an outstanding violist, and such is definitely the case with the Aviv’s Nathan Braude. Naxos’s sound is fine.
These two works, particularly the Third Quartet, are not the most accessible of Dohnányi’s compositions, but they are well crafted and interesting in their own right…this release is a must-buy for those interested in Dohnányi’s music. © 2012 Fanfare Read complete review
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Review By Lynn René Bayley ,Fanfare,July 2012
The key of A Minor pretty much dominates the proceedings, despite a very lovely, insinuating major-key theme in the middle. Yes, some of the music is edgy, the strings scored in close seconds and playing an almost rough rhythmic passage, but Dohnányi keeps bringing the listener back in with his lyric excursions, and even in its edgiest moments he never loses track of an easy-to-follow rhythm.
The First Quartet…according to the liner notes, owes something to Brahms…this piece, like the early String Trio, is really delightful.
The Aviv Quartet, a very youthful-looking bunch, approaches this music with an unusually warm, laid-back feeling that is still rhythmically alert and brings out all the subtle humor in the music. Their style emphasizes lyricism above all. © 2012 Fanfare Read complete review
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Review By Jerry Dubins ,Fanfare,July 2012
The Aviv plays Dohnányi’s quartets quite splendidly, with a wealth of tonal bloom and a conviction in the music that comes through in a sense of real feeling for the composer’s personal style. I’d definitely recommend this over the older and somewhat stodgy Koch Schwann recording of the A-Major Quartet with the Artis Quartet…Naxos’s affordable price makes this an attractive buy for anyone wanting to get to know these beautiful Dohnányi string quartets. © 2012 Fanfare Read complete review
Review By Roger Hecht,American Record Guide,July 2012
The variations flow nicely, often with a hymn-like quality, and are sweetly moving. The lively, good-natured finale looks back to Haydn, often with swirling passages traveling between the instruments. Frequent use of a drone bass lends a touch of the ritualistic. The performances reveal these pieces for the worthy creations they are. The Aviv’s tone is appropriately dark, and their melodic lines are sweetly lyrical. Sound is excellent. The notes are informative. © 2012 American Record Guide Read complete review on American Record Guide
Review By Gonzalo Pérez Chamorro,Ritmo,June 2012
Los Cuartetos de Erno von Dohnányi (1877-1960), abuelo del director Christoph von Dohnányi, presentan ciertos convencionalismos en su escritura, pese a la muy buena factura general. Sobre ellos pesa todo un siglo XIX repleto de influencias insalvables, aunque con el sentido rítmico tan peculiar del húngaro, estos cuartetos tienen un sello propio, nada que ver con Bartók, que quede claro. El Cuarteto Aviv, que en Naxos grabara unos modélicos Cuartetos de Hoffmeister, tiene calidad suficiente para estas obras, una música entre dos mundos de una especial densidad. El Cuarteto núm. 3 en La menor op. 33 (1926), de entreguerras, es una obra de una belleza melódica intensa, de curiosos contrastes rítmicos (Andante religioso, toda su sección central, o el intenso Allegro agitato inicial), mientras que el Cuarteto núm. 1 en la mayor op. 7 (lo han puesto como cierre del disco) parece más anclado al romanticismo (es de 1899), tomando como modelo a Schumann y Brahms (el comienzo del Allegro inicial es de un schumanismo evidente), alcanzando momentos de gran belleza (desarrollo del Allegro y todo el Allegretto grazioso). Buena música y muy buena interpretación, buen camino lleva esta integral. © 2012 Ritmo
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Review By Gary Higginson,MusicWeb International,May 2012
Dohnányi 1st Quartet has much that is nineteenth century romantic about it in its four movements. Brahms is to be heard as Richard Whitehouse points out in his informative booklet notes. The first movement is in clear sonata-form, but in the second movement I detected a touch of Dvorák. The movement is marked Allegretto grazioso. There are some folk-like elements in the main theme of the third movement a lovely Adagio, and in the drone bass accompaniment to the second theme in the breezy Vivace finale. Although weighing in at nearly half-an-hour the piece, for an early work, did not “outstay its hour”. It delivers a pleasing if somewhat undemanding experience, There were however some slightly quirky modulations, which point to a new way forward.
Along with their many other projects Naxos’s commitment to Dohnányi is noticeable. This is the fifth disc devoted to him in recent times. One can assume that the missing Second Quartet written during the First World War will appear in due course. It appears not to be available anywhere at present.
The Third Quartet, which curiously comes first on the disc, is an important utterance. The booklet notes say that the composer’s “significant handling of form in this piece is paralleled by a new expressive freedom”. I certainly concur but would add that by 1926 just a short time after Ruralia Hungarica’s success Dohnányi had finally found his voice. This quartet has just three movements. In the substantial first the two subjects are dramatically opposed both in terms of mood and key. I felt at times that the Aviv Quartet—beautifully photographed by the way on the back of the booklet—could have characterised these ideas even more firmly. Nevertheless there are some seriously passionate passages and some that are powerfully rhythmic which elicit strong attack and decisive commitment; note the breathless coda.
The second movement demonstrates the refreshing and free-thinking use of form mentioned earlier. It begins with a hymn-like opening, reminding me of a Victorian chant. After some development this falls into a Scherzo of some wit. There follows a strongly emotional passage based over a repeated pedal note. This dies into the opening melody, which is subtly varied and developed, especially in the accompanimental figures. The ending is calm and contented. The finale, by contrast, ends in a syncopated and excitingly rumbustious climax: an exhilarating Vivace giocoso. This is electric stuff at times and the playing likewise. In fact, as so often happens, I felt myself bemused as to why this quartet is not more often played and part of the standard repertoire. Perhaps someone in Hungary could tell us if it’s better known in Budapest.
I can only say that the disc is well worth the required modest investment even if only for the Third Quartet. Nothing about it will disappoint. © 2012 MusicWeb International more....
Review By Gary Lemco,Audiophile Audition,April 2012
Erno von Dohnanyi (1877-1960) composed his Third String Quartet in 1926. From the outset of the Allegro agitato ed appassionato we feel a curious mix of musical styles, one that borrows modes from national Hungarian sources, with sudden exclamations from each of the instruments, as well as exhibiting strong formal ties to Brahms. Dohnanyi has no qualms about urging the lower two instruments to growl while the upper strings sing or skitter in wide, volatile leaps. A prominent viola part (Nathan Braude) proves as dexterous as it is expressive.
An Andante religioso con variazioni follows, hymnal in the style of Dvorak but whose idiosyncratic harmony and polyphony lie somewhere between Hungary and Enescu’s Romania. Cellist Rachel Mercer basks in her moment of sad lyricism, while the two violins (Sergey Ostrovsky, Evgenia Epshtein) soar in a lovely duet.
The First Quartet (1899; pub. 1903) could easily be attributed to Brahms or one of his artful imitators. The waltz tunes move through the viola and cello, intimate and expansive in a Viennese style. The modulations assume a modal character, close to Dvorak but tinged by quick rocket figures that smack of academic Mendelssohn. Nathan Braude’s viola emerges in a leadership role well into the development section, then the first violin sighs and lilts its way back to the second subject.
The third movement, Molto adagio con espressione, casts a post-Romantic glow that benefits from the low cello and the aerial trills in the violin part. Hungarian modal harmony infiltrates the extended melodic line, which breathes a plaintive song for passing Romantic sensibility.
the Aviv Quarte…plays Dohnanyi with a natural felicity that recommends the disc as a source of bountiful returns. © 2012 Audiophile Audition Read complete review
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Review By Remy Franck,Pizzicato,April 2012
Der Ungare Ernö Dohnányi (1877–1960) schrieb sein drittes Streichquartett (das auf dieser CD zuerst zu hören ist) im Jahre 1926. Das Aviv Quartet setzt das Agitato e passionato des 1. Satzes genau so eins zu eins um wie das Religioso des zweiten und das Giocoso des dritten Satzes. Das erste Quartett, ein Vierteljahrhundert früher entstanden, wirkt gegenüber der intensive Musik des dritten uncharakteristischer, ruhiger, und das ‘Aviv Quartet’ trägt dem vollauf Rechnung, ohne die Musik langweilig werden zu lassen. Ihr schwungvolles Spiel im ersten und letzten Satz, ihr Charme im zweiten und ihr ausdrucksvolles Interpretieren im Adagio lassen das Stück mehr als nur interessant werden. Eine spannende CD! © 2012 Pizzicato
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Review By Robert Matthew-Walker,International Record Review,April 2012
Dohnányi’s brilliant Variations on a Nursery Song for piano and orchestra was guaranteed to be heard at the Henry Wood Proms every year, but now…it is a great rarity in concert programmes.
I have played this disc quite a few times in the past several weeks, each time with growing appreciation and admiration of the composer’s achievements…The Aviv Quartet is to be most warmly congratulated on a truly notable achievement. I have been particularly taken by Dohnányi’s mastery in making the three movements not monotonal…and the subtleties of working of the material, the cross-references and the excellence of the string writing are deeply impressive.
…the four-movement First Quartet…is a finely written work…Once more, the Aviv Quartet is excellent in this work, and the recording quality is very good indeed, with genuine balance from the four instruments, each set naturally within acoustic.
This really fine and, in its way, important release has good booklet notes by my colleague Richard Whitehouse: the result is a successful issue in every way. This CD is a further demonstration of what the classical record business does best. © 2012 International Record Review
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