Do You Want More?

 

Too bad! There isn't any.


Many, many recordings have Puccini's Crisantemi, usually paired with Verdi's String Quartet in E minor, maybe with some other lesser known Italian composers.

Moving further afield, you may even find some with the Minuets and Fugues, but there is a reason why a recording dedicated only to Puccini's string quartet music is rare.

It is only (45+) minutes. This could be a deal breaker for many, but perhaps with the surge in popularity for LPs, this was the time for these performances to be released. Also, the space between tracks is unusually brief; I think they could have stretched the total timing to 50 minutes.

The length doesn't bother me, though. If I only want Puccini's chamber music, I would rather not have other fill-ups. So what do we have here?

Student works mostly. The three Minuets for string quartet and the three Fugues are fairly academic sounding from the young composer. The minuets might have a little more in them musically, but not much.

Many will be familiar with the later Crisantemi, an intimate, slowly evolving bit of string quartet songfulness. It is beautiful, yet short, and is perhaps Puccini's most famous musical contribution to the genre. Crisantemi is a tad reticent sounding from these performers, but it works well enough for the intimacy of this piece.

What should draw most to this recording is this completed version of Puccini's String Quartet in D Major. Completed by Puccini? Not quite, but if the liner notes are to be trusted, as close as we can get to a complete work from current sources, with interpolations from (trusted?) academics. The work itself is fairly jovial in nature and the folk-like musical ideas are charming.

I am not familiar with any of these string players. The quartet performing doesn't have an ensemble name either, so perhaps they are a coming together of pick-up string musicians from around Milan at that time. This performance dates from 2002, so I am wondering why it took until 2024 to release this music. Regardless, they are well captured, even if Puccini's early music isn't going to break down any musical barriers.

 

Listen on YouTube

 

 

Works
String Quartet in D Major (18.34)
Crisantemi (6.59)
Minuet 1 (5.12)
Minuet 2 (3.29)
Minuet 3 (4.09)
Fugue 1 (3.07)
Fugue 2 (3.04)
Fugue 3 (2.30)

Performers
Paolo Morena, violin
Fabio Ravasi, violin
Cynthia Liao, viola
Gabriele Zanetti, cello

Label: Urania
Year: 2024
Total Timing: 47.08

 

 

Some might not like the short runtime, but for an album dedicated only to Puccini's string quartet music, it works fine for me.

I am also curious as to why this recording has just been sitting out there for over a decade, now picked up by Urania.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Find more Puccini recordings HERE!