Introduction to Musical Listening: A Guide to Recorded Classical Music, Part II: Chamber Music of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, and Brahms were all first and foremost composers of chamber music. Not only did they compose more chamber music than any other kind, but the majority of their most memorable works, in the opinion of most critics and musicologists, was done in this medium—although in the popular mind all are best known for their orchestral works, especially their symphonies.

Ludwig von Beethoven (1770-1827) wrote 16 string quartets, in three distinct periods. The early period is represented by the Opus 18 quartets, which are sometimes difficult to distinguish from late Mozart. They all exhibit a fully achieved mastery of the medium, and Op. 18 no. 5, especially, is pure delight. But it is in the great middle-period quartets that we find qualities of feeling emerging which are unique to Beethoven: “classical in form, romantic in content” is one cliché which might be used to describe them. The Quartet no. 7 (Op. 59 no. 1), with the vigorous thrust of its opening movement, is one of the most cherished quartets in musical literature and a “must” for every record library. Great in a quite different way are the no. 8 (Op. 59 no. 2) and the lyrical and pensive no. 9 (Op. 59 no. 3) with its famous passage for plucked cello. The no. 10 (Op. 74, “Harp”) has a haunting ethereal beauty in every one of its four movements. And then there is the shorter and more acerbic no. 11 (Op. 95), the transitional piece to the late quartets. Each of these works is so distinctively unique, that one is reminded that if one great work of art were to be lost, not all the other works of art in the world would adequately substitute for it.

FOUR FAVORITE TRIOS (3 records) / BFL Price $11.95 BEETHOVEN: THE MIDDLE QUARTETS (4 records) / BFL Price $11.95 BRAHMS’ CHAMBER MUSIC FOR WINDS (3 records) / BFL Price $7.50 QUARTET NO. 1 IN E, “FROM MY LIFE” (Smetana) and QUARTET NO. 6 IN F, “THE AMERICAN” (Dvořák) / BFL Price $5.95

Finally we come to the quartets of Beethoven’s late period—the last works he ever wrote—his farewell to the world, transcending by far in depth and profundity any of his symphonies or concertos. Far from being “the ravings of a deaf man” (he had become totally deaf before creating them), they have a mysterious otherworldly quality, which to some listeners is merely strange and eerie, but to others is the ultimate in sublimity and exaltation. Following upon the no. 12 (Op. 127), there is the haunting and unfathomable no. 13 (Op. 130), containing one of the most unforgettable movements in music, the mysterious “Kavatina,” which figures prominently in the last chapter of Aldous Huxley’s novel Point Counter Point. The “Grosse Fugue,” which Beethoven composed as the final movement to the no. 13, should be played as such rather than the one which he later substituted because of the difficulty of playing the “Grosse Fugue.” On some recordings of the no. 13, the “Grosse Fugue” is happily included.

Next, listen to the no. 15 (op. 132), haunting, bitter, mad, and ethereal by turns. All of the above quartets are more immediately intelligible to the listener, at least after the first few times, than the profoundly disturbing no. 14 (Op. 131), which many consider Beethoven’s greatest contribution to quartet literature. Finally, listen to the last work Beethoven wrote, the no. 16 (Op. 135), with its stunning slow movement—“sadness too deep for tears.”

The playing of Beethoven’s quartets involves very special requirements, particularly an attunement to the deeply philosophical character of those of the late period which not every ensemble is up to. Of the many recordings available, the one to get on the middle-period quartets is a four record set by the fine Guarneri Quartet, “Beethoven: The Middle Quartets” (available from BFL). But on the profound late quartets, get either the Quartetto Italiano on Philips records or the Yale Quartet on Vanguard. For the Op. 127 I suggest the Yale Quartet on Vanguard 10054; for Op. 130, the Quartetto Italiano on Philips 839795; for Op. 131, the Yale Quartet on Vanguard 10062; for Op. 132, the Yale Quartet on Vanguard 10005; and for Op. 135, the Quartetto Italiano on Philips 83975.

Almost as great as Beethoven’s legacy of string quartets is that of his 32 piano sonatas. The most famous one, no. 14 (“Moonlight”), is at the moment available on over 30 recordings. I suggest that you skip this in favor of some of the great sonatas of his middle period. The marvelous no. 21 (“Waldstein”) and no. 23 (“Appassionata”) both are excellently performed by Horowitz on Columbia M-31371. Cliburn also is especially good on these, as he is on the Op. 81a (“Les Adieuz”), available on RCA LSC-4013 and 2931.

It is only after hearing Beethoven’s middle-period sonatas that one is in a position to appreciate the grandeur of the late ones. The immense “Hammerklavier Sonata” (Op. 106, and best played by Askenazy on London 6563) far transcends the piano medium. Much more accessible to the listener, and easier on the ear, are the three consecutive last sonatas, Op. 109, 110, and 111. The second of the two movements of the Op. 111 (Sonata no. 32) is in my opinion the finest movement in the whole of piano literature. It moves step by step to such a height of serene exaltation that the listener feels himself levitated, remaining on the heights long after the performance has been concluded. Now that the most “spiritual” of the performances (by Artur Schnabel) is no longer available, I suggest the performance by Brendel on Turnabout 34391, where it is coupled with the Op. 110 Sonata.

Beethoven wrote many other masterpieces of chamber music. But the finest of them all, and among all of Beethoven’s chamber works the one which the listener will probably want to return to most often, is the magnificent “Archduke Trio” (Op. 97); it has not only the energy and nobility of Beethoven’s middle and late work, but it is very tuneful and easily accessible to the beginning listener. I would invite the reader to begin his exposure to Beethoven’s chamber music with this work. It should certainly be heard several times before turning to the late quartets and sonatas. It is contained in the excellent three-record chamber-music sampler, “Four Favorite Trios.” [Ed. Note: Reviewed last month and available from BFL.]

I discussed Schubert’s chamber music last month. Of Mendelssohn I would recommend only the Octet (Op. 20). Almost all the great music of Schumann and Chopin is for the piano—the solo piano, not the piano concertos or other orchestral works. These have already been discussed by other BFL reviewers, so I shall stop only long enough to recommend the recording of Schumann piano works on Turnabout 34438. An undeservedly neglected composer in the same vein is the Irishman, John Field (1782-1837). Hear his Nocturnes on Nonesuch 71195.

Brahms (1833-1897), too, was primarily a composer of chamber works. He is much less direct, more involuted, than Schubert, yet as anyone who has heard his symphonies already knows, there is a quality of high drama and tension that is unique to Brahms. Many of his chamber works are too “cerebral” (ingenious but not moving) for most tastes. Accordingly, I recommend the following as the most accessible and also among the finest of his chamber music: (1) the marvelous Trio for Piano, Violin, and Horn, Op. 40 (Boston Symphony Chamber Players on RCA LSC-6184); (2) the early piano quartet (piano plus three strings), Op. 25; (3) the famous Quintet for Piano and String Quartet, Op. 115, with the long lingering “October Melancholy” of the slow movement; (4) and the solo piano music which was Brahms’ last work, Op. 448 (Rubenstein on RCA LSC 2450). Op. 40 and Op. 115, together with the Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano (Op. 114), are available from BFL on a three-record set, “Brahms’ Chamber Music for Winds,” for only $7.50 (list price is $9.95).

Another great composer of chamber music who is apt to be overlooked because he wrote fewer orchestral compositions (which seems to be what makes composers famous with the general public) is the French master, Gabriel Faure (1845-1924). I recommend particularly his tuneful Piano Quartet no. 1 in C-minor. If you can get hold of the recording on Capitol SP-8558, I recommend doing so; otherwise get it on Oiseau S-289, where it is coupled with Faure’s fine piano trio.

Less of a creative genius than Faure, but more famous because of his symphonic work, is Caesar Franck (1822-1890). His Sonata in A for Violin and Piano is his most famous chamber work, and it is one of the most resplendent violin-and-piano sonatas in the entire literature. There are several excellent recordings of it currently available. Almost as memorable is the String Quartet in D, available in a three-record set of French quartets (Faure, Franck, Debussy, Ravel, Roussel) on Vox SVBX-570. And not to be forgotten is his great piano work, the Prelude, Chorale and Fugue (coupled with Debussy piano preludes on Seraphim S-60103).

The highly original founder of impressionistic music, Erik Satie (1866-1925), was influential far out of proportion to his small output. His work for solo piano is his best, including the famous “Trois Gymnopedies,” which I recommend as performed by Ciccolini on Angel 25442.

The most famous musical impressionist, Claude Debussy (1862-1918), wrote many chamber works, of which the most memorable are for solo piano. Get Columbia MS-6567, containing Entremont’s performances of both books of “Images,” “Pour le Piano,” and the “Children’s Corner Suite.” The one other great chamber work by Debussy is the justly famous Quartet, Op. 10, haunting in its interweaving melodies and radiant subtle harmonies.

Debussy wrote one string quartet, as did Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), and although I think Debussy’s is far superior, both are well worth having, and they are almost invariably paired on a single record. At the moment there are nine performances of them available. But amidst the plethora of orchestral and chamber works that Ravel wrote, I recommend most highly a real gem, the “Introduction and Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet and String Quartet,” of which there are many good performances available.

The greatest genius of Russian music, Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881), was a first-rate composer of piano music, particularly the famous “Pictures at an Exhibition.” Almost everyone knows this in the orchestral transcription by Mussorgsky’s disciple, Rimsky-Korsakov. But it was written for piano, where its clarity, precision, and power distinctly emerge. You can compare the piano version (played by Richter) and the orchestral transcription (done by Szell) for yourself on Odyssey Y-32223, which has both of them together.

Turning from Russia to what is now Czechoslovakia, we have one of the greatest chamber works in the entire repertoire, written by the greatest of Czech composers, Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884): the Quartet no. 1 (Op. 10), “From My Life.” It is a totally unique work, clearly nineteenth century and yet different from anything else written in that century. It is a powerfully integrated work of tremendous emotional intensity, from the forced gaiety of the scherzo movement to the desolating sadness of the adagio. By the time we get to the resumé of all the earlier themes at the end of the final movement (and of his life?), in which the tension becomes almost unbearable and the loneliness too much to be borne, we have something analogous to, and not a whit inferior to, the great quartets of Beethoven. Once you have heard this work a few times, it will be a lifetime companion. Try it for yourself in the fine performance by the Juilliard Quartet available from BFL.

Smetana’s fellow Bohemian, Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904), wrote a considerable number of chamber works, some of which are quite worth hearing repeatedly, particularly the Quartet in E-flat (Op. 51) and the “American Quartet” (Op. 96), which is usually paired on the same record with the Smetana quartet (as it is on the Juilliard Quartet recording recommended above). Dvořák’s chamber works are highly melodic and lyrical, but they are water unto wine compared with the one work by Smetana.

One would never imagine that Richard Strauss (1864-1949), the composer of famous operas and tone-poems, would go in for chamber music; but one of his youthful works, the Sonata for Violin and Piano (Op. 18), is one of the most exquisite works of chamber music in existence. Perhaps nowhere is the contrast and dialog between the mellifluous violin and the more staccato piano better illustrated. It is always full of driving energy. Sometimes it is pensive and even sad, sometimes happy and even positively ecstatic, but everywhere its melodies, and the marvelous interplay of the two instruments, are irresistible to anyone who has acclimated himself at all to chamber music. It is available on Nonesuch 71205.

Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) is a prominent twentieth-century composer whose works are already (unfortunately) going out of fashion. He wrote many good chamber works, but there is one special gem that deserves special mention: the Quintet for Piano and String Quartet (1923), on Concert Disc 252. It is surely one of the finest chamber works of this century.

Finally, among the moderns, Bela Bartok (1881-1945) and Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) are among the most famous composers of chamber music. Each of them is richly inventive, highly ingenious, undeniably imaginative. But their chamber works represent, like very sharp cheeses, an acquired taste, and a taste in some cases never acquired even in the face of valiant efforts: they are simply too “astringent.” But if you want to try a bit of Stravinsky’s chamber work, get the Octet for Wind Instruments on Columbia M-30579 (which includes other interesting Stravinsky chamber works). As for Bartok, his six string quartets have been compared with Beethoven’s. I do not think they deserve this appellation, but if you want to delve into music that becomes progressively more atonal (or tonal in strange ways), but at the same time increasingly profound, stirring strange and untapped depths within the soul, listen to his string quartets in order, from no. 1 to no. 6. You will be either bored, bothered, and bewildered, or moved to the depths. I cannot claim to have risen to this last stage, but the strata of feeling Bartok taps are sufficiently analogous to those of the late Beethoven quartets to keep me at it—and, every once in a while, in the quiet of the wee hours of the morning, deeply moved without knowing exactly why. (Next month: Orchestral Music Through the Eighteenth Century.)