Mozart: The “Prussian” String Quartets
Chiaroscuro Quartet (BIS)
(scroll down for English review)
由伊貝拉紀莫娃領軍（即身為第一小提琴）的「明暗四重奏」，最近的錄音在海頓、莫扎特、貝多芬之間遊走，似乎三者都想作大規模錄音，但又不想先集中一人。之前也聽過他們兩三張錄音，但又不想談論。這次一次過灌錄莫扎特三首「普魯士」弦樂四重奏，終於領略到他們的倣古奏法有甚麼功用。
一時間不容易習慣不用或刻意少用揉弦，但這種「白音」是配合了右手運弓，很少會機械地拉出來，倒是比沒頭沒腦地揉弦更有歌唱感。加上伊貝拉紀莫娃往往逐個音符地撫弄，我又沒聽過莫扎特的弦樂四重奏有那麼嫵媚，也算是另類的浪漫。只是這種奏法不時愈奏愈縮，本來還像是玩貓，玩下玩下變成玩老鼠那麼細眉細眼。
Other than her solo activities Albina Ibragimova is striking a distinctive chamber bypass with her Chiaroscuro Quartet. They have been releasing CDs of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven on BIS, and they seem to be part of complete surveys of each composer. Yet the Chiaroscuros prefer not to concentrate on one composer before going onto another.
Perhaps the most significant part of their pursuit is the HIP-sound. I listened to a couple of their CDs before but didn’t review them. With this set of Mozart’s “Prussian” quartets I finally found what I enjoyed. The vibrato-less (or almost) white tones were often played with minute fluctuations on the bowing arm and rarely sounded dull. At times they sounded livelier than the “normal” string sound when a player simply shakes mindlessly.
We all know how flamboyant or bouncing Mozart could sound but the Chiaroscuros brought a sensuous tenderness which points perhaps to Chopin or Schumann. My complaint was that they often overdid the caress and pampering, and the sound all but shrank to nothing.