All about chemistry - Borodin's String Quartets

Borodin is one of those composers whose body of work is small, but whose best known works have deserved status as repertoire staples for decades. That he managed to write at all remains a point of wonder, given his profession as a chemist, but the concert hall is richer every time the symphonies are performed, the opera house likewise in the case of 'Prince Igor' and the chamber music similarly for each hearing of his two string quartets.

Yet there is a real danger that his music could fall unless it is performed more often. In the 1970s and 1980s the Second Symphony was ubiquitous, but now it barely gets a look-in, and its charming companion the First, full of melodic joie de vivre, gets lesser still exposure.
The second string quartet now enjoys a position right at the top of the list, and if anything is now programmed too much by quartets in Britain. This is understandable, for there are so many richly rewarding melodies within its bars – not least for cellists – but it is a shame that the
First is overlooked at its expense, for this too is a rich mine of attractive music.

The lovely way that the Fitzwilliam Quartet captures the slightly demure opening on this reissue from Eloquence sets the tone, the music blossoming into a more assured first movement. Once the transition is made the musical outlook is a sunny, one, with not much weight applied by the Fitzwilliam at all, until the second theme comes in, the cello digging in a bit to its double stopped accompaniment. The theme is one of Borodin's most attractive, moving with chromatic subtleties in the way he is able to do.

The second movement is nearly as successful, though there is quite an uncomfortable noise at 5'19", with a pretty harsh outburst that sounds stretched, even if it does follow the directed ff dynamic. The quartet redeem this in the Scherzo's trio section with a lovely use of the harmonics in the trio, another great example of Borodin's imaginative writing for stringed instruments. The open textures of the finale’s introduction are nicely done too, appropriately rustic.

The second quartet is very well performed, and the balance keen between the players, an important aspect of this work, is secure. Only the recorded sound can compromise enjoyment, the 25 year old recording benefitting from the remastering process but not fully removing the surface area coarseness. Borodin's humour could perhaps come through here more, in the finale in particular where the stop-start nature is a little business like. The famous Notturno, mind, is ideally judged.

For a relatively modest outlay this is a useful pairing to acquire, especially for the first
Borodin quartet, which is a fine and underrated work indeed. While the Borodin Quartet, named after the composer, remain the last word in interpretations of these wonderful works, the Fitzwilliam slot in close behind.