The chamber music of Franz Krommer, a Bohemian born Frantisek Kramar, was thought to rival that of
Beethoven in his own time and has been undergoing a modest revival. His expert writing for winds has enlivened that repertoire. And these three string quartets, two of them never recorded before, are well worth hearing. Although Krommer was apparently disparaged by
Beethoven, he understood many of
Beethoven's innovations (even if he didn't match
Schubert in understanding them and then producing something completely different). These three quartets are full of Beethovenian trademarks, including tight motivic structure in the opening movements, large chromatic excursions, and a distaste for the relaxed Viennese mood. If they lack the emotional heft of
Beethoven's middle-period quartets (especially in the finales, which are much more akin to
Haydn's), they are superbly crafted and quite distinct in personality from one another. Germany's Marcolini Quartet, which charmingly enough is named for a Belgian chocolate shop, plays period (or period replica) instruments and delivers carefully sculpted readings with excellent balance among the parts. Annotator Rebekka Sandmeier (notes are in German and English) makes the interesting point that Krommer bridged the gap between music for professionals and music for dilettantes. These quartets don't convey the deep waves of social change that
Beethoven's do, but they have little charms of their own.