New Talich Quartet Lineup Retains the Warmth, Tone

This week, we are awash in long-running string quartets--with the GuarneriQuartet passing through town Sunday, and the Talich Quartet touching down Monday night at Cal State Northridge to lead off the Music Guild’s 56th season.

By coincidence, both ensembles were founded in 1964, but while three of the original four Guarneri members are still in place, the Talich lineup has completely turned over.

The latest change was the retirement of violist-founder Jan Talich last spring, whereupon second violinist Vladimir Bukac switched to viola and Petr Macecek became the new second violinist. There is still a Talich--Jan Jr., the first violinist--in the group, and fourth-year cellist Petr Prause completes the lineup.

Those who treasure Talich recordings--the warm, fleet, highly absorbing 1977-1982 Beethoven quartet cycle (just reissued at bargain price by Calliope), for instance--will be happy to hear that this young, energetic edition retains the old silken warmth, which it laid out on the table in Suk’s gorgeous, yearning meditation on the old Czech hymn “St. Wenceslas.”

Yet the group was not afraid to jettison that warmth temporarily in Janacek’s String Quartet No. 1, digging abrasively into the spooky effects, heightening the nagging effect of Janacek’s obsessive repeated figures, drawing extreme contrasts whenever possible.

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Sometimes, the ferocity nearly got out of hand--and for a Czech group, there was surprisingly little folk-like lilt in the second movement’s rhythms--but in every other respect, this was a terrific performance.

In Dvorak’s String Quartet No. 13--an apt bit of programming since the first movement anticipates the Janacek (along with a Mexican folk song!)--the Talich had it every which way, with gusts of abandon, technical security and strong rhythms all wrapped in a ravishing tone quality.

And they sealed the all-Czech evening with a lightning-paced encore, the finale of Dvorak’s “American” Quartet.

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* The Talich String Quartet program repeats tonight at 8, Wilshire-Ebell Theatre, 4401 8th St. $7-$24. (310) 552-3030.