Dvorak: Works for String Quartet - Cypresses, Movement in F, Two Waltzes, Gavotte
Cypresseswas originally a song cycle. Dvorák later transcribed 12 of the 18 songs for string quartet. The result is as purely lyrical, undemanding, and lovely as anything in the chamber music literature. In a way it's Chamber Music Lite, with no complex development to follow, just a constant flow of melody. But who can complain when the melodies are as beautiful as these? The Quartet Movement--which does have development--is also lyrical, and it's so effective that one wonders why the composer never finished the Quartet he began. The Waltzes and Gavotte (for three violins) complete a consistently songful program, all of it played in a most beautiful, idiomatic style by the fine Czech ensemble.--Leslie Gerber