Franco Alfano: Complete String Quartets

Elmira Darvarova, Mary Ann Mumm, Craig Mumm, Samuel Magill

String Quartet No. 1 in D major (1924 version)

String Quartet No. 2 in Tre Tempi Collegati in C major

String Quartet No. 3 in G minor

Frano Alfano is unfortunately best known for his much maligned completion of Puccini's Turandot. This completion, however, is not representative of Alfano's compositional talents (his first completion was rejected by Ricordi and Toscanini for not sounded like Puccini). Additionally, it's well known that Puccini himself didn't know how to satisfyingly finish the opera, the completion heard today is with additional cuts from Toscanini, and Berio's much later completion isn't much better. Nevertheless, at one point in the 20th Century Alfano was one of Italy's most popular living opera composers, with his most popular opera Risurrezione (1904) having been performed 1000 times by 1950.

This disc showcases another side to the composer, presenting the world premiere recordings of his three string quartets, all written between the two world wars. Whilst they don't invent the wheel, they demonstrate a unique compositional voice in the late-romantic idiom, with some interesting structural designs. The quartet plays these pieces with enough gusto and don't downplay any of the music, exhibiting this a music that needs (once in a while) to be heard.

String Quartet No. 1 (written during the First World War) is a dissonant work, with substantial areas of motivic counterpoint. If you are not aware of his other music, the opening Vivacissimo will come as something of a shock. There are some moments where the texture becomes slightly cluttered, but the trajectory of the movement leads to a satisfying climax. Written at the same time as his opera La leggenda di Sakùntala, the quartet shares the opera's plethora of exotic effects, and the quartet writing comes across similarly large-scale (almost orchestral).

The second movement, a gorgeous Calmo, is believed to be written in memory of Alfano's son, Herbert. In contrast to the first movement, this is written minimally, with Alfano not being afraid to give the instruments and structures space. Harmonically, little of this bares any resemblance to Puccini or his verismo contemporaries. The striking use of pizzicato arpeggios toward the end of the movement recalls some of Haydn's string quartets, and the movement concludes with some strikingly funereal octaves. That being said, Alfano's occasional meandering reluctance to present his materials in a more direct way rarely does the work any favours, despite the performer's strong advocation to the music.

The final movement, a fiery Allegro deciso, shows most clearly the parallels between the quartet and Sakùntala. Distinct to this movement is its frequent changes of mood, with a barrage of dance rhythms before relaxing to a sumptuous central episode. After much rhythmic development, the work ends with a strong D major cadence.

The much shorter and more tonal String Quartet No. 2, opens with a contrapuntal Largo assai, somewhat reminiscent of the music of Roy Harris and William Schuman, although with influences of Medieval, Eastern European and Roma folk music rather than Americana, in a style that recalls various Italian opera intermezzi of the verisimo movement, particularly Leoncavallo and Cilea. The second movement, marked Allegretto semplice (come una canzoncina per bimbi), meaning 'like a children's song', is played particularly poignantly by the quartet, and once again pizzicato is used to great effect. Meanwhile, the Bartók-ian final movement, inspired by Romanian village dances, is played idiomatically without overplaying any of folk allusions.

In contrast, his String Quartet No. 3 opens with a vast Largo, a tribute to his wife who died the same year. The quartet play with the right balance of sentimentalism and nostalgia, however, as with many of the longer movements here, the structure often lacks direction and tension. The second movement, a South-Eastern European Dance in asymmetrical metres, is one of the more characterful moments of Alfano's oeuvre, with the A section in the phrygian mode whilst the B section is Aeolian. The final movement, a Beethoven-ian monothematic march is a tribute to Ancient Rome. Whilst not on the level of Respighi's Roman Trilogy, the movement provides plenty of interesting motivic and rhythmic developments, and is successful as a conclusion to the work.

Overall, this is a well played set of string quartets which, although well-written, are far from essential. Nevertheless, the quartet make a great case for these works to be heard, and it places greater context on a style of Italian composers largely left to history.