LDV61

GEOFFROY COUTEAU & QUATUOR HERMÈS 19 The beautiful theme that opens the Allegro non troppo is rich in harmonic and melodic contrasts. Violent, severe, but also mysterious, it bears some kinship with both a nostalgic Schubertian song and a movement of symphonic grandeur. Much less severe in cut, and bathed in an atmosphere of intimate confession and romance, the ensuing movement, Andante un poco Adagio, progresses with great rhythmic flexibility. The Scherzo, Allegro, plays on the rhythmic differentiation of the three themes. Its momentum seems to surge forth from the depths of the earth. Here Brahms, with his ‘Nordic’ character, imposes a breathless, heroic expressiveness that harks back to Beethoven. The central Trio brings a moment of calm. The Finale, Poco sostenuto - Allegro non troppo - Presto con troppo, opens in the style of Beethoven’s quartets, with shifting harmonies and a majestic, if not menacing, slowness. Brahms combines the complexity of the polyphony with folk rhythms fromwhich he derives energy and colours. The tempo becomes more and more agitated, comparable to that of the Scherzo. It constantly expands with a violence that is transformed into a cry of joy or pain. ‘The music of Brahms almost always possesses a sonority combining intensity with gentleness, and that characteristic did a lot to nourish our collective sound during our working sessions with the string quartet.’