Notes and Editorial Reviews
Naxos has been doing Alan Rawsthorne (1905–1971) proud. An English composer who might have become a dentist, and who studied the piano with Egon Petri in Poland and Germany, Rawsthorne’s music is gritty, concentrated, and very communicative in its edge.
The two violinists of the Maggini Quartet give a very assured account of Theme and Variations (1937), spellbinding music of wide range: lyrical, intense, fiery, and mercurial. Rawsthorne’s String Quartet No. 1 (1939) is also cast as a theme and variations; once more this is music that compels, is beautifully worked out, and is compact while spawning much over its 10 minutes.
The other quartets, from 1954 and 1965, are just as concise, in four and three movements,
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respectively—at least, Naxos supplies three cue points for No. 3—although the composer himself informs us that No. 3 is in “two main sections, each of these being divided into several sub-sections.” Rawsthorne’s introductions, presumably written for the first performances of each work, are helpfully reproduced in Naxos’s booklet. Both works dig deep into emotional states as well as being formally attractive. There’s real heart, here, and genuine craftsmanship, searching and voluble, the musical language extended as each work is reached in terms of the composer’s chronology while retaining a passionate outreach for the listener to climb aboard. If I suggest that admirers of Bartók and Hindemith will be on home ground here, I also want to stress that Rawsthorne is very much his own man, expressing himself deeply through music.
Wonderfully well played by the Maggini Quartet, and rendered with a conviction that suggests Rawsthorne’s music is standard repertoire for these musicians, this is an outstanding release that is further blessed by sound that is tangible and truthful. Please don’t miss what I believe to be really significant pieces.
FANFARE: Colin Anderson
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Works on This Recording
1.
Theme and Variations for 2 Violins by Alan Rawsthorne
Performer:
Laurence Jackson (Violin),
David Angel (Violin)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1937; England
Venue: Potton Hall, Suffolk, England
Length: 15 Minutes 29 Secs.
Notes: Potton Hall, Suffolk, England (12/13/2005 - 12/15/2005)
2.
Quartet for Strings no 1 "Theme and Variations" by Alan Rawsthorne
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Maggini String Quartet
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1939; England
Venue: Potton Hall, Suffolk, England
Length: 10 Minutes 1 Secs.
Notes: Potton Hall, Suffolk, England (12/13/2005 - 12/15/2005)
3.
Quartet for Strings no 2 by Alan Rawsthorne
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Maggini String Quartet
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1954; England
Venue: Potton Hall, Suffolk, England
Length: 17 Minutes 37 Secs.
Notes: Potton Hall, Suffolk, England (12/13/2005 - 12/15/2005)
4.
Quartet for Strings no 3 by Alan Rawsthorne
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Maggini String Quartet
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1965; England
Venue: Potton Hall, Suffolk, England
Length: 17 Minutes 2 Secs.
Notes: Potton Hall, Suffolk, England (12/13/2005 - 12/15/2005)
Sound Samples
Theme and Variations: Theme: Allegro
Theme and Variations: Variation 1: Capriccietto
Theme and Variations: Variation 2: Siciliano
Theme and Variations: Variation 3: Cancrizzante
Theme and Variations: Variation 4: Rhapsodia
Theme and Variations: Variation 5: Notturno
Theme and Variations: Variation 6: Scherzetto
Theme and Variations: Variation 7: Ostinato
Theme and Variations: Variation 8: Canone
Theme and Variations: Variation 9: Fantasia
String Quartet No. 1, "Theme and Variations": Theme: Tempo giusto, espressivo e poco agitato
String Quartet No. 1, "Theme and Variations": Variation 1: L'istesso tempo
String Quartet No. 1, "Theme and Variations": Variation 2: Andante appassionato
String Quartet No. 1, "Theme and Variations": Variation 3: Allegro
String Quartet No. 1, "Theme and Variations": Variation 4: Adagio, poco misterioso
String Quartet No. 1, "Theme and Variations": Variation 5: Allegro preciso
String Quartet No. 1, "Theme and Variations": Variation 6: Prestissimo
String Quartet No. 2: I. Maestoso e pesante - Allegretto - Allegro agitato
String Quartet No. 2: II. Allegro appassionato sempre molto rubato
String Quartet No. 2: III. Allegretto
String Quartet No. 2: IV. Theme, Three Variations and Coda
String Quartet No. 3: I. Allegro deciso - Allegretto - Allegro deciso -
String Quartet No. 3: II. Alla ciacona: Andante
String Quartet No. 3: III. Molto vivace
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