This is a program celebrating the Prazak Quartet’s almost 36 years of existence, drawn from concerts in the very recent past. Though SACD it is only two-channel Super Audio, which is a little weird and unusual, but the sound is fairly spread out and broad. The performances however, sound a little ragged and unkempt to these ears, and I cannot say I enjoyed it that much.
This quartet can be heard to better effect on any number of other recordings. Part of the issue is that as a single hearing it doesn’t gel too well, like having a spicy Fillet Mignon with a TrockenBeeren Auslese. The former fits the Beethoven, done here with far less sensibility than you will hear on any number or recordings, especially like the Tokyo Quartet’s first go on RCA. The Feld Saxophone Quintet failed to move me in any way at all, and seemed very out of place here. The Martinu has moments, but is one of his stranger pieces and not where I would send someone for a first crack at the wonderful composer.
The Haydn “Frog” comes off the best, perhaps because it opens the program (a good choice) and we don’t yet realize what is to follow, so it can’t be spoiled. But you would think, out of this quartet’s discography, that something better than this could have been put together, and in bona fide surround sound at that. Don’t judge the quartet based on these live recordings (and the stormy audience response), they are very fine. But this issue doesn’t do them justice.
— Steven Ritter