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Review by Beagle September 6, 2006 (9 of 9 found this review helpful)
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Borodin, the bastard aristocrat and medical research chemist, wrote better music in the odd spare moment than most dedicated composers write in a lifetime; he simply had no time to produce reams of derivative bumf. It's all remarkably good, but the Quartets stand out as gems of his maturity -- no. 2 shamelessly borrowed by Broadway and Hollywood, and thus making Borodin's music if not Borodin popularly known. Quartet no. 2 should be here on this disc with its companion, but it is not.
Quartet no. 1 is here, and 'in glorious technicolor'. I am appreciative of all of Praga's chamber issues on SACD, but a quick glance at my most-favourite discs (Haydn Appolonyis, Czech Degenerates, Borodin) reveals that they are by the Kocian, not the Prazak Quartet. I had suspected a difference in recording approach, but perhaps it's the musicians. I have never quite enjoyed the sound of the Praga/Prazak Beethoven op. 18, finding it edgy and aggressive. Quite oppositely, the Kocian discs manage to be well-defined but warm, a viola-friendly sound (and my ideal of string timbre).
The music-making is spirited in pace, and good-spirited in attitude (Borodin can be milked for sentiment). My reference disc is the Borodin Quartet on EMI, but I also have the St Pete's on Sony. The Kocianovo are somewhat brisker than either in all but the Scherzo prestissimo, where they play a bit less recklessly than the competition; all very satisfying. The tempos create a music wisely distant from either classical gallop or romantic swoon. Only one cello note seems slightly truncated, a small price to pay for otherwise-glorious playing. I am not certain of the placement of the players: there is a good bit of viola coming through the left channel. Half-star withheld, just to leave room for IsoMike.
The Quintet is played and recorded here just as handsomely as the quartet, and follows nicely on its coat-tails. But! it is a young man's work and not of the same musical stature as the quartets. The quintet would be a welcome addition to the higher-fi repertoire if Quartet no. 2 existed on SACD in a better form than it does (it exists in dilute form on the RPO/Membran disc). The quint could have been coupled with the 1855 Trio on a russian folksong as volume 2 of a marvelous Borodin chamber series.... Too bad.
If you don't have ANY chamber music on your SACD shelf, get one of the Praga/Kocian discs. This one is especially approachable -- even hum-able, even hug-able.
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