Composer: Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann
Performer: Leif Ove Andsnes, Artemis Quartet
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Erato
Catalogue: 3951432
Release: 2007
Size: 255 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Schumann: Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44
01. I. Allegro brillante
02. II. In modo d’una marcia
03. III. Scherzo (Molto vivace) & Trios I and II
04. IV. Finale (Allegro ma non troppo)
Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34
05. I. Allegro non troppo
06. II. Andante, un poco Adagio
07. III. Scherzo (Allegro) & Trio
08. IV. Finale (Poco sostenuto – Allegro non troppo – Presto, non troppo)
With an almost ideal balance between piano and strings, the variety of articulation in their playing brings a marvellous textural variety to the full-blooded writing in the outer movements of the Brahms. …the performances… can be confidently recommended as among the finest modern recordings of both works.
Leif Ove Andsnes has an uncanny knack of revealing the inner truth of the music he plays without recourse to excessive gimmickry. He also has exquisite taste when it comes to choosing his chamber music collaborators, as this pairing of the two cornerstones of the piano quintet repertoire demonstrates.
Schumann’s Quintet has become the most famous of his chamber works, with its boundless energy and melodic generosity. Andsnes and the Artemis let the notes speak for themselves, never lingering too lovingly on mere details. It’s an approach that serves the work well, and an ideal instrumental balance helps illuminate the work’s compelling textures throughout.
It’s a similar story in the Brahms. Andsnes and the Artemis are alive to all the possibilities in the pregnant opening phrases of each movement and maintain the intensity of the impetuous passion implicit in this youthful music. The Brahms hasn’t fared as well on disc as the Schumann and this recording of it can certainly take its place among the finest. As for the Schumann, it’s undoubtedly up there with the best.
Andsnes, whose playing is full of personality, and the Artemis Quartet, who have a fine presence, give a magisterial account of the Brahms and are no less compelling in the Schumann.