Debussy & Szymanowski: Quartets

Bold, untamed and expressive—this is not the usual soft-focus, impressionistic-style Debussy. The Belceas released their debut recording of Debussy’s Quartet back in 2001. Here, with some changes in the player line-up, their return to that work finds them both more forthright and more rounded in their characterisation of that work. They are never heavy-handed—the lively yet light “Assez vif et bien rythmé” second movement well exemplifies their disciplined yet sensitive ensemble. Yet the depth of expression to be found in the slow third movement, not to mention the sheer beauty of the Belcea’s expressive phrasing, exceeds their earlier recording. Given these qualities, the two lesser-known Szymanowski works seem natural offshoots of Debussy’s pioneering String Quartet. The Belceas uncover the erotic feeling in these works: No. 1 starts like a great, sensual sigh, and there are elements of post-Wagnerian longing in subsequent music. This seems to resolve in a beguiling love melody that opens the slow central movement. The tense and disconcertingly off-kilter dance with which Szymanowski completes this work is brilliantly realised. Szymanowski’s Second takes its inspiration from Polish folk music, even edging into Bartók-like territory. There are also Expressionist elements, such as the central movement’s horrifying opening, which overshadows the unsettling dance that immediately follows. In the finale, the Belceas steer a powerful course from its disconsolate opening to a more hopeful ending.