Robert Fuchs (1847-1927) was an unassuming Viennese Composer who Brahms
took under his wings.  Fuch's music was in the Brahms mold except that
Fuchs never could emulate the quality of his mentor's music.  He also
couldn't match Dvorak who was also promoted by Brahms.  Fuchs never held
any influential position in the artistic or academic arena.  Even the
composer Franz Schreker was considered quite modern compared to Fuchs.
When atonality gathered a head of steam in the early 1900's, Fuchs and
his music became totally obsolete and forgotten.

Some reviews I have read of Fuch recordings refer to him as a late romantic
composer.  That's quite a misleading premise.  Zemlinsky, Strauss, Schmidt,
Mahler, etc.  were late romantic composers.  Fuch's music was in some
respects a relic of the past at the time of composition and puts him right
into the 'heartland' of the romantic period.

Concerning Fuch's string quartets, all four of them were written relatively
late in his life; the first was written in 1895 when Fuchs was almost 50
years old.  They all have the flavor of having been written much earlier.
Some critics consider these chamber works to be highly rewarding; others
think of them as "Brahms without the quality".

MDG recently issued Volume 2 of Fuch's string quartets.  The disc contains
his last two quartets, Number 3 in C major Opus 71 and Number 4 in A major
Opus 106.  Performances are given by the Minguet Quartet, a young group
which was formed in 1988.

Fuch's Opus 106 has a relatively cheerful first movement with some angst
added for contrast.  The second movement, Allegro vivace, has much rhythmic
vitality in its upbeat Scherzo which displays a rustic quality; the Trio
is more relaxed and has a cello cantilena.  The third movement, Andante
sostenuto, has a pleasureable and serene atmosphere interrupted by a minor
mode middle section of urgency.  The Andantino-Allegro fourth movement
continues the predominantly cheerful nature of the previous movements.

Opus 106 is not a neglected masterpiece.  Its melodies are not particularly
memorable and structure reveals no mastery or innovation of form.  Upon
initial listenings, I received little reward for my effort.  However,
additional hearings do leave me with the impression of pleasant music
professionaly constructed.

Opus 71 is quite similar to Opus 106 in range of moods and architecture.
The MDG liner notes state that the fourth movement is the most
"captivating" movement of the two last quartets.  I can't deny that it
contains greater variety than the other movements, but again, there's
nothing memorable taking place.

Don's Conclusions:  As an example of the byways of the Romantic era, this
Fuchs disc certainly has worth for those serious collectors who love
romantic chamber music.  However, Fuchs is a minor composer with limited
inspiration and compositional skills.  A love for the string quartets of
Brahms and Dvorak does not translate into a similar affection for Fuch's
string quartets.  It's very much the same as listening to an Andreas
Romberg string quartet after a Haydn quartet; it is debatable whether
the time is being well spent.

I can give this new Fuchs recording a qualified recommendation for
those already intimate with much better string quartets from much better
composers.  For those new to the romantic chamber music repertoire, no
recommendation is warranted; go for the great works from the likes of
Brahms and Dvorak.  Although Dvorak's early string quartets get quite a
bit of criticism(but not from me), they are a large improvement over the
Fuchs string quartets.  I had both MDG/Fuchs discs on my "to buy" list;
I've already deleted Volume 1, since a single Fuchs disc saturates my
interest.

Don Satz
[log in to unmask]