Pleyel Quartett Köln continue Pleyel's Prussian Quartet cycle

Ignaz Pleyel
Prussian Quartets 1-3
Pleyel Quartett Köln

When Frederick William II became King of Prussia in 1786, many German composers paid the cello-playing monarch tribute with dedicated compositions. One of the first gifts to arrive was a set of twelve quartets by Ignaz Pleyel. With this release, the Pleyel Quartett Köln continues their traversal of the "Prussian" quartets.

Although similar in style to his contemporaries Haydn and Mozart, in comparison Pleyel's quartets seem to have a stripped-down simplicity. The melodies have an elegant balance to them, moving in a logical fashion from cadence to cadence. Pleyel might not be breaking new ground with these works, but there's enough originality to make them worthy of repeated listening.

The Pleyel Quartett Köln continues the same high quality of performance they established with the previous releases in this series. Their period instruments give the works a somewhat soft sound, especially on the unison attacks. The players nicely balance classical reserve with expressive energy, which I think adds to the attractiveness of the works. My only complaint is that the ensemble seems to be recorded a little too distantly (with no room ambiance to compensate).

CPO began this series with quartets Nos. 7-9, then released Nos. 4-6. Perhaps Nos. 10-12 will follow shortly. I, for one, am looking forward to the completion of Pleyel's attractive coronation gift.

The D-Day 70th Anniversary Special

On Vivace this week, we have some musical birthdays to celebrate: Siegfried Wagner, Aram Khachaturian and Ignaz Pleyel.   

However, the main focus of the show will be to mark the 70th anniversary of a date that everyone knows: June 6, 1944.

It was on that morning that Allied forces crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Normandy, in northern France to liberate Western Europe from the occupation of Nazi Germany. 

 

On the first day, 176,000 troops, including 73,000 Americans, arrived by landing craft and ships as well as nearly 14,000 aircraft. The Allied forces were able to secure Northern France within 3 months, despite considerable resistance by Nazi forces. It proved to be the turning point in World War Two.

Early on Friday morning, exactly 70 years after that momentous morning, many world leaders, including Britain's Queen Elizabeth, 28 European Heads of Government and the presidents of Russia and the United States will gather in Normandy to remember and pay homage to those who died. The American commemoration will be a concert, which we will reproduce for you in its entirety starting at 7 am. 

This is sure to be compelling listening. As ever, I hope you'll join me for this special D-Day edition of Vivace here on WTJU-Charlottesville.