While it is always a good thing to have all three of
Schumann's string quartets on a single disc, these performances by the
Fine Arts Quartet are not especially persuasive -- or even particularly enjoyable. Part of the reason is that the
Fine Arts Quartet is not a wholly homogenous ensemble. Although each of the players seems fully capable as individualists, they don't seem to belong in the same group. The violinists are sharp and edgy, the violist is shy and reserved, the cellist is warm and weighty, and at no point do their separate approaches cohere into a convincing ensemble. But the bigger part of the reason is that the players don't seem to have a real feel for
Schumann's string quartet writing. Their textures are lean without being clean, their rhythms are heavy without being strong, and their developments are driven without actually going anywhere. While by no means a disaster, the
Fine Arts' performances are at best dull. There have been many outstanding performances of
Schumann's quartets over the years -- one thinks of the deeply romantic
Budapest Quartet recordings, the astoundingly beautiful
Quartetto Italiano recordings, and the wildly expressive
St. Lawrence Quartet recordings -- but the
Fine Arts Quartet's recordings just don't hold a candle to any of them. Naxos' sound is close and a little hard.