TCHAIKOVSKY, KORNGOLD Souvenir de Florence, String Sextet

The Nash Ensemble Hyperion CDA68406 (CD). 2024. Andrew Keener, prod.; Oscar Torres, eng. PERFORMANCE

SONICS

If you know the classic Borodin Quartet (and friends) Souvenir de Florence, the opening here may disappoint. The Nashes, though vigorous and propulsive, sound thin by comparison, and in the second group, the buoyant violin gets a finicky accompaniment. But by the development, the players banish the Borodins’ shade, leaning into the broad, tenuto lines and committing to the music’s ardor, even if the elaborate coda wants to run away.

There’s no problem with the saturated tone of the Adagio cantabile, though it’s more nearly andante; after the agitated central section, the recap’s faster pizzicatos don’t faze the players. The Allegretto’s melancholy, authentically folklike contours artfully combine with the chipper “B” theme in the return. Another folk-inflected theme launches the finale; the second group’s accompaniment seems deliberately held down—the Borodins underlined its obsessiveness—but the recap is open-hearted.

With Korngold, you never know whether you’ll get Hollywood’s lush Romantic or a chilly modernist. In the Sextet, he’s both. The angular fragments that begin the first movement coalesce into a bed of plush homophony; the second group is spacious, horizontally and vertically. Light, open textures make the music seem “modern,” with some (Richard) Straussian pivots.

Stabbing accents yield to an unsettled, vaguely Expressionist Adagio; Korngold works through the twists and turns, and the 10-minute movement holds together well. In place of a scherzo, a wandering Intermezzo turns into a Ländler, becoming a slower waltz in the trio with an abrupt, heartfelt outpouring in the home stretch. The Finale offers a cheerful, vigorous start and a quirky second group, with bits of pure Weill in the development. The players are vigorous in the fast movements. The sonics are pleasing.