The Talich Quartet gave a concert in Montreal this weekend as part of its 2019 lineup, which did not fail to cause great disappointment among those who were curious to hear how the integration of star cellist Michal Kaňka was going. .
When we saw the Talich enter the stage with Petr Prause, we were filled with disappointment. The interest of hearing this quartet in this old formation deprives us of the lessons that we hoped to learn with regard to the dynamics between individuals.
A cellist, like the formidable Eckart Runge, who drives the Artemis Quartet until 2019, is a base, a sound foundation, but also a beacon that gives impulses and a spirit.
Petr Prause (Kaňka is, according to our information, unavailable for two weeks for a shoulder operation) is a seasoned musician, but the material is not deep, the relief rather flat, even if he has been much more active in Beethoven, notably the 3e movement. The surprise came from the fact that the violist Radim Sedmidubský, a fairly recent member, was not brilliant in relief: in delicacy with a small solo from 2e movement of Kalliwoda, in nothing radiating in the 1er Janáček pane.
Tandem of violinists
The interest of the Talich, seen on Sunday, is based in a certain way on the very great contrast between a 1er violin, Jan Talich Jr., very sharp and a 2e violin, Roman Patočka, very mellow. Although this contrast also marks its limits. The slightly acid side of Jan Talich Jr.’s violin and the relative uniformity of his attacks in Beethoven place the Talich’s performance clearly below quartets such as the Dover (listen to the subtlety of their recent Op.59 No. 2 at Cedille) or the Jerusalems.
The Talich Quartet wanted to begin with a composer whose colors he defended, or almost alone, in 2005, on record: Johann Wenzeslaus Kalliwoda (1801-1866), a sort of Czech Mendelssohn. Kalliwoda’s quartets are radiant and joyful works made to entertain, and his happy and fruitful inspiration has its place in concert.
In Janáček, the comparison with the old Talich (the mythical formation of Petr Messiereur, Jan Kvapil, Jan Talich Sr. and Evžen Rattay who recorded it in the Quartets) and the ensemble that made the trip to Montreal brings little. The Talich delivered a solid reading of the score, but lifeless between the notes at 1er movement. The subject has fortunately become denser in the last two parts, the Final above all.
Honorable concert, but without magic and without great spirit, like the very unplayful transitions in Beethoven’s last movement. The concert of the weekend was probably that of the Quatuor Debussy in Bourgie, Saturday evening. By focusing on Medea and the Talichs, we did not have a lucky hand this time.