Zdenek Fibich(1850-1900)
    String Chamber Music

String Quartet No. 1 in A major(1874)
String Quartet No. 2 in G major(1878)
Theme and Variations in B flat major(1883)

Supraphon 3470-2 131
Recorded 2000/2001
Panocha Quartet
TT 59:26

Orfeo 439981
Recorded 1996
Kocian Quartet
TT 63:27

Summary Ratings: Panocha Quartet  A
 Kocian Quartet   B-

Of the Czech composers writing music in the latter half of the 19th
century, Dvorak and Smetana were the most appreciated.  Zdenek Fibich was
in their shadows and remains there to this day.  His music is not as firmly
Czech as Dvorak and Smetana, having much of the Germanic influence
including traits of Wagner's compositions.

The reputation that Fibich now holds is based on his operas, melodramas,
and orchestral works.  His chamber works are infrequently programmed in
concert, and recordings are few.  Being a highly self critical individual,
Fibich did something dramatic in the 1897/88 time frame.  He went through
all his compositions and destroyed about 120 works, most of them in the
chamber category.  Fortunately, he did keep some of them alive, and the
three string works on the Orfeo and Supraphon issues are among them.

The earliest work, the String Quartet in A major, was composed by Fibich
when he was twenty-four years old and is the most popular of the three
string compositions; it is quite youthful in character and employs a
host of melodies from Czech folk songs and dances.  The G major Quartet,
composed four years later, is a more sober work with a tighter structure.
The Theme and Variations was originally intended to be a movement from a
third string quartet which was never realized.  Although the Supraphon
liner notes indicate a 'world premiere' for this work, the fact is that
the Kocian Quartet recorded it prior to the Panocha Quartet.

Both the Kocian and Panocha Quartets have fine reputations and many
recordings under their belts.  I first became familiar with the Kocian
through their Mozart string quartet recordings for Denon, and the Panocha
have recorded the complete string quartets of Dvorak to huge acclaim; the
group has likely recorded all the Czech string chamber works of the
romantic/late romantic era.

As can be gleaned from the timings, the Kocian Quartet is a little slower
than the Panocha throughout the disc except for the Theme and Variations
in which they are slightly quicker.  Concerning reviews, both Fanfare
and American Record Guide placed reviews of the Supraphon disc in their
November/December 2001 issues.  The American Record Guide review considered
the disc quite desireable, but the reviewer was unaware of the Kocian
recording.  In the Fanfare issue, the Panocha performances were felt to be
superior to the Kocian as to vibrancy.  Personally, I've had the Kocian
disc for about two years now and recently obtained the Panocha CD.

Is the music ready for prime-time recognition? I feel it is an
excellent contender.  The entire disc is loaded with great melodies,
excellent architecture, and diversity of emotions.  The chamber music
of Fibich unfortunately gets swept aside by Smetana and particularly
Dvorak.  Further, there are tons of wonderful string quartets from
composers born from 1850 to the end of that century; so many of them
receive little press and seem to knock each other off the map of
recognition - Schmidt, Malipiero, Tubin, Zemlinsky, Marx, L.  Glass,
etc.  The list is nearly endless.

If you venture into these chamber by-ways, the Fibich chamber works deserve
your attention.  And the best presentation of his string quartets and the
Theme and Variations is provided by the Panocha Quartet.  The group is more
alert, urgent, exciting, and poignant than the Kocian Quartet.  Of course,
the music is not 'salon' music, but the Kocian takes it closer to that
category.

String Quartet in A major - The first movement, Allegro grazioso,
reveals a wealth of differences between the Panocha and the Kocian
Quartets.  Picture music which unfolds into an exceptional Spring day
with growth, delight, and harmony - that's the Kocian Quartet.  They are
on the restrained side, but there's a subtlety that rises to the top.  The
performances are utterly classical in conception, displaying light textures
and precision.  I love the approach.

The Panocha Quartet is quicker and takes us to a more expressive
environment than the Kocian.  The Panocha's accenting is bolder, the
vibrato more evident, the animation more pronounced and the emotions
more on 'the sleeve'.  It's a romantic reading entirely within reasonable
boundaries for the time period.  One's preference for the first movement
would likely depend on classical vs.  romantic leanings.  I find both
performances excellent.  The music itself is vivacious and delightful
with many endearing phrases and a wealth of emotional diversity.

The heart-felt and lovely Andante Semplice lends itself well to the
Panocha's style.  The movement has a more serious and dramatic nature than
the Allegro grazioso; the group is really in its element here as it digs
deeply into the core.  Also, the conclusion which ends in a hushed tone
is magical in the hands of the Panocha; it flows like silk.  This is an
exceptional performance.

I suppose there is a fine line between subtlety and insufficient
characterization, but the Kocian goes over that line.  The group also does
not seem to acknowledge that this second movement is not the same music as
in the first movement.  The attractive coolness of their first movement
turns into a rather banal brew in the Andante Semplice, at least compared
to the Panocha.  In addition, the wonderful conclusion sounds entirely
hum-drum with the Kocian.  This lack of making adjustments to different
music results in a less than excellent Andante Semplice for the Kocian
Quartet.

The first polka ever in a Czech string quartet comes in the third movement
Allegretto.  Fibich considered this movement the most successful of the A
major Quartet, and it has been performed as an independent piece and also
appears in Fibich's orchestral suite "Impressions from the Country".  The
music is playfully energetic and alternates between a tender calm and a
rugged angularity; handling the contrasts and providing the playful quality
largely determines the success of a performance of the Allegretto.

Both the Panocha and the Kocian Quartets acquite themselves well; their
differences are mostly along the same lines as in the first movement.  The
Kocian Quartet is more classical in style but fully captures the playful
nature of the music in a very youthful manner.

The last movement of the A major is an Allegro with fugal sections
alternating with chorale-type sections.  The music starts out with a
dynamic and sinister accumulation of energy but soon shows its more
tender side; these tender passages are poignant and gorgeous.

The Panocha Quartet tends to give short shrift to the tender passages;
all priority goes to the more demonstrative elements.  I can't deny that
the group's fugal passages are very powerful and the energy is sucked up
in a growling yet controlled ferocity.  The Kocian Quartet can't match the
Panocha fugues, but the poignancy displayed when called for does offset the
fugues.  Put another way, neither performance has it all.

Summation for Quartet in A major - I must have a higher opinion of
the Kocian Quartet than the Fanfare reviewer.  There is a delightfully
classical approach to their music-making, and only in the Andante semplice
does it result in an undernourished performance.  However, the Panocha
Quartet has to get my preference; the Andante semplice is superbly
characterized and much more effective than the Kocian reading.  In the
other three movements, the Panocha Quartet's more demonstrative readings
are a fine alternative to the Kocian Quartet.

String Quartet in G major - The first movement, Allegro moderato, reveals
that Fibich has matured musically in the four years from his A major
Quartet.  The writing is tighter, each note has greater significance, and
the melodies flow more naturally from one another.  Also, the G major first
movement has a drive and momentum stronger than the A major which tends to
meander a bit.  However, the two movements are quite similar in conveying
the rewards of youth and renewal.

The Kocian Quartet is low on drive and urgency in the first movement.
Although this isn't the first movement of the A major, the group plays as
if it is the same music.  Again, the Kocian Quartet has not adjusted to the
different nature of the music.  The Panocha Quartet has no trouble at all
with the movement; the group is vibrant and bold with delicious accenting.

In the second movement Adagio, the Panocha continue to provide more
vibrancy and depth than the Kocian Quartet.  The lack of 'octane' to
the Kocian performances start to take their toll as one listens straight
through to the disc - one size fits all, and it's not a large size either.

The third movement is a Scherzo in the typical ABA form; the outer
sections have a fast and urgent triple time, while the contrasting trio
section dances like a delightful and light polka.  The Panocha Quartet
takes the outer sections at a faster tempo than the Kocian Quartet.  Not
only is the Panocha more urgent in the outer movements; the group is also
more tender in the trio; the contrast between the sections is thereby
enhanced.

In the last movement of the G major, Allegro vivace, the Panocha Quartet
are miles ahead of the Kocian Quartet.  I listen to the Panocha, and I
keep full attention on the development of the rondo; I admire the music's
diversity and have affection for the musical themes.  The movement is
simply outstanding.  With the Kocian, I lose focus and tend to think of
other matters.  The music is like a microcosm of all that has come before
in the work, and it's the Panocha who cover the field.

Well, the relatively small advantage that I found the Panocha Quartet to
have over the Kocian Quartet in the A major becomes huge in the G major.
There's no doubt in my mind that the G major is the superior composition,
but you wouldn't know it from the Kocian performance.

The differences between the Kocian and Panocha Quartets continue with the
Theme and Variations in B flat major.  The Panocha Quartet digs deeper into
the emotional themes, is more vibrant, and also more poignant when called
for.

Don's Conclusions:  The music is well worth the time of anyone who enjoys
chamber music from the latter half of the 19th century, and the Panocha
Quartet's recording is the one to go for.  The Kocian Quartet's disc is
a worthy one, but it won't provide all the diversity and gusto that's
conveyed by the Panocha Quartet.  Also, the more I listen to the Kocian
performances, the more I become impatient with their reticent playing.

In past reviews of Classical era chamber music, I've often groused about
how some groups play Mozart or Haydn as if it's Dvorak.  The Kocian Quartet
tends to play Fibich as if he's just a 'stone's throw" away from the
classical era repertoire.  This is largely a matter of the Kocian not
making decisions as idiomatically as the Panocha Quartet.

Don Satz
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