BaL 10.10.20 - Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30am
Building a Library
Lucy Parham discusses a wide range of approaches to Brahms's Piano Quintet in F minor, Op 34, and recommends the key recording to have.

Available versions:

Alban Berg Quartett, Elisabeth Leonskaja
Allegri String Quartet, Rian de Waal *
Amadeus Quartet, Christoph Eschenbach
Amadeus Quartet, Conrad Hansen
Amaryllis Quartett, Matthias Kirschnereit
Amati Quartet, Uriel Tsachor *
Arcanto Quartet, Silke Avenhaus *
Artemis Quartet, Leif Ove Andsnes *
Artis Quartet Wien, Peter Frankl
Auryn Quartet, Peter Orth
Hrachya Avanesyan, Boris Brovtsyn, Diemut Poppen, Alexander Chaushian, Yevgeny Sudbin (SACD)
Bartók Quartet, Dezsõ Ránki *
Belcea Quartet, Till Fellner
Berlin Philharmonic Octet (members), Werner Haas
Bolshoi Theatre Quartet, Rosa Tamarkina
Borodin Quartet, Sviatoslav Richter
Borodin Quartet, Eliso Virsaladze *
Brodsky Quartet, Natacha Kudritskaya
Budapest String Quartet, Clifford Curzon
Budapest String Quartet, Rudolf Serkins
Budapest String Quartet, George Szell
Busch Quartet, Rudolf Serkin *
Clemens Dahinden, Heinz Wigand, Antonio Tusa, Peter Rybar, Clara Haskil *
Cleveland Orchestra String Quartet, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Cleveland Quartet, Emanuel Ax
Cuarteto Casals, Claudio Martínez Mehner *
Divertimenti Ensemble *
Emerson String Quartet, Leon Fleisher
Formosa Quartet, Reiko Uchida
Griller String Quartet, Dame Myra Hess
Gringolts Quartet, Peter Laul
Guarneri String Quartet, Arthur Rubinstein
Guarneri Quartet, Peter Serkin
Hába Quartett, Lucia Huang
Hagen Quartett, Kirill Gerstein
Hagan Quartet, Paul Gulda
Hagen Quartett, Oleg Maisenberg *
Lucy Hall, Mark Dobrinskji, Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg, Dora Schwarzberg, Mark Drobinsky, Lilya Zilberstein *
Frank Huang, Anthony Marwood, Richard O'Neill, Paul Watkins, Gilles Vonsattel *
Ironwood
Janacek Quartet, Eva Bernáthová
Juilliard Quartet, Leon Fleisher
Kodaly Quartet, Jeno Jando
Kuchl Quartet, Paul Badura-Skoda
La Gaia Scienza
Leipziger Streichquartett, Andreas Staier
Lindsay String Quartet, Peter Frankl
London String Quartet, Idil Biret
Modigliano Quartet, Jean-Frédéric Neuburger
Montreal String Quartet, Glenn Gould
Musikvereinsquartett, André Previn *
Nash Ensemble
New Budapest Quartet, Piers Lane *
Nomos Quartet, Gil Garburg
Orford String Quartet, Gloria Saarinen
Pacifica Quartet, Menahem Pressler
Michaela Paetsch-Neftel, Rahel Cunz, Hartmut Rohde, Guido Schiefen, with Alfredo Perl
Pihtipudas Kvintetti
Prazak Quartet, Ivan Klansky (SACD)
Pro Arte Quartet, Gunnar Johansen *
Quartetto di San Remo, Aldo Ferraresi
Quartetto Italiano, Maurizio Pollini
Quatuor Ebène, Akiko Yamamoto
Quatuor Hermès, Geoffroy Couteau
Quintetto Fauré di Roma *
Rubio String Quartet, Paul Komen
St.Petersburg Chamber Players
Schubert Ensemble, William Howard
Silesian Chamber Soloists *
Sine Nomine Quartet, Philippe Bianconi *
Smetana Quartet, Eva Bernáthová
Arnold Steinhardt, John Dalley, Michael Tree, David Soyer, Arthur Rubinstein *
Takács Quartet, Stephen Hough
Takács Quartet, András Schiff
Tátrai String Quartet, Sviatoslav Richter
Tel Aviv String Quartet, Pnina Salzman
Tokyo String Quartet, Jon Nakamatsu (SACD)
Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet, Edith Farnadi
Yale String Quartet, André Previn


* = download only

[silvestrione]

I love the Borodin Richter, and also have the Budapest/ Curzon. These are incomparable, in my view. I remember the Guaneri/Rubinstein from years ago, as also fine. I had the Quartetto Italiano/ Pollini once but found it too severe, and piano dominated.

Certainly interested in finding a more modern recording!

[Alison]

I’ve always preferred the marvellous piano duet version op 34 (b)!

[jayne lee wilson]

At last something to get my teeth into!

Hey Alps, you left one of my favourites out.....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tones-Romantic-Extravagance-Brahms-Quartet/dp/B01MCZPZDY/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=ironwood&qid=1577712190&s=music&sr=1-4

So there's Ironwood and La Gaia Scienza for starters...(might be hard for me to see beyond these stunners...)...just a shame my epic dental drama series is about to start up again in the New Year though...... but there's often nothing more important than Brahms these days....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Quartett-Quintett-Gaia-Scienza/dp/B00005CCZ0/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=La+Gaia+SCienza&qid=1577712530&s=music&sr=1-1

Both this and Ironwood are capital-H HIPPS and very dramatically done! "Just buy them" or stream them now but (voice/accent: Mandy Rice-Davies) I would say that wouldn't I?

[mikealdren]

I have the Hollywood quartet with Victor Aller on LP and it was available on a Testament CD (set) but not sure if it still is.

[Serial_Apologist]

Is this the Brahms work that Schoenberg orchestrated, nicknaming it "Brahms's Fifth Symphony?"

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Is this the Brahms work that Schoenberg orchestrated, nicknaming it "Brahms's Fifth Symphony?"

No - that's one of the Piano 4tets.

Edit: #1 in g minor, Op 25.

[Serial_Apologist]

No - that's one of the Piano 4tets.

Edit: #1 in g minor, Op 25.

Aha! - thanks ferney.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

At last something to get my teeth into!

Hey Alps, you left one of my favourites out.....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tones-Romantic-Extravagance-Brahms-Quartet/dp/B01MCZPZDY/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=ironwood&qid=1577712190&s=music&sr=1-4

How remiss of me. I remember noticing that one this morning, and I thought I'd included it. Thanks for the timely reminder.

[pastoralguy]

I always remember getting a Quintet together to play the Elgar Quintet with me playing first fiddle. The second violinist asked if we could also play the Brahms with me on second violin. I was stunned by the Brahms which I'd never heard before. The cd I bought was the Previn/Musikverein Quartet recording on Philips which has always been my benchmark.

I've heard many recordings since but still love Mr. Previews' recording. Having said that, I did receive two CDs of the new Hagan Quartet with Gerstein which I really enjoy. Fantastic piece!

[BBMmk2]

I’m not missing this one!

[LMcD]

I recently picked up for the proverbial song the BBC MM CD (Vol. 15 No. 11) featuring artists from the Music@Menlo Festival (coupled with the Dvorak Piano Quartet in E flat). Vivid live recordings of intensely committed performances. I also have the BPO Octet/Haas recording on Philips Duo.

[richardfinegold]

The most recent “modern” version I have is with veteran players—Menachem Pressler with the Emerson Quartet. My long time favorite is the Julliard Quartet with Leon Fleisher. A very worthy contender is the Naxos disc , Jeno Jando and the Kodaly Quartet, paired with the Schumann Quintet

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

A very worthy contender is the Naxos disc , Juno Jando and the Kodaly Quartet, paired with the Schumann Quintet

[visualnickmos]

The most recent “modern” version I have is with veteran players—Menachem Pressler with the Emerson Quartet. My long time favorite is the Julliard Quartet with Leon Fleisher. A very worthy contender is the Naxos disc , Juno Jando and the Kodaly Quartet, paired with the Schumann Quintet

Yes - absolutely. Jeno Jando is a laudable stalwort of the Naxos label, and the Kodaly Quartet never fails to impress. One of Naxos's 'little gems'