BaL 10.10.20 - Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor

[Barbirollians]

I only have the Jando and the Rubinstein but have never felt the need for any other.

[Barbirollians]

I see that Serkin and the Busch Q recording is in their big box in Warner . Haven’t got that far in the box yet .

[jayne lee wilson]

I only have the Jando and the Rubinstein but have never felt the need for any other.

I imagine Hollywood/Victor Aller would suit you very well......?

[Sir Velo]

[Barbirollians]

I imagine Hollywood/Victor Aller would suit you very well......?

This appears to be some sort of dig . I don’t have that recording it does not appear to be in their Testament reissues.

[jayne lee wilson]

This appears to be some sort of dig . I don’t have that recording it does not appear to be in their Testament reissues.

What!? What?!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hollywood-String-Quartet-Johannes-Brahms/dp/B000003XKN/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=hollywood+quartet&qid=1586282175&sr=8-6

...One of the first recordings to enamour my passion for the work as for Brahms and Schumann chamber music generally, and still a stone-cold solid-gold classic.... a wonderful set.

Fine honed through their Hollywood Filmscore Orchestral work, these were some of the finest chamber players in history... much admired from the 1950s on by Lionel Salter and many others. I'm especially fond of the Hindemith and Walton recordings too....

Knowing your tastes as expressed on here, I simply thought you would dig their Brahms Op.34 as well...

[Barbirollians]

What!? What?!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hollywood-String-Quartet-Johannes-Brahms/dp/B000003XKN/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=hollywood+quartet&qid=1586282175&sr=8-6

...One of the first recordings to enamour my passion for the work as for Brahms and Schumann chamber music generally, and still a stone-cold solid-gold classic.... a wonderful set.

Fine honed through their Hollywood Filmscore Orchestral work, these were some of the finest chamber players in history... much admired from the 1950s on by Lionel Salter and many others. I'm especially fond of the Hindemith and Walton recordings too....

Knowing your tastes as expressed on here, I simply thought you would dig their Brahms Op.34 as well...

Thanks for making that clear but out of stock and only available very expensively secondhand - so I shall have to miss it - I wonder what Sir Velo finds so funny - perhaps he could enlighten us ?

[BBMmk2]

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!

Both these recordings sound worth a look?

[richardfinegold]

Thanks for making that clear but out of stock and only available very expensively secondhand - so I shall have to miss it - I wonder what Sir Velo finds so funny - perhaps he could enlighten us ?

I purchased the Hollywood Quartet recording recently after it was praised to the sky by a review magazine here. I had previously stumbled upon a set of lps of the Hollywood Quartets recordings in a second hand record store, but the Brahms was warped and untrackable. Surprised to hear that it is nla, maybe it will reappear soon as a download. It’s a fine performance but the early fifties recording is muffled and distant and dilutes the impact for me.
The first violin of the Quartet, btw, is Felix Slatkin, the father of Leonard. I might be mistaken on this, but I believe Mrs. Slatkin is another member, and the Pianist, Victor Aller, is her brother.
I’ll Google this later and edit it if necessary

[richardfinegold]

I purchased the Hollywood Quartet recording recently after it was praised to the sky by a review magazine here. I had previously stumbled upon a set of lps of the Hollywood Quartets recordings in a second hand record store, but the Brahms was warped and untrackable. Surprised to hear that it is nla, maybe it will reappear soon as a download. It’s a fine performance but the early fifties recording is muffled and distant and dilutes the impact for me.
The first violin of the Quartet, btw, is Felix Slatkin, the father of Leonard. I might be mistaken on this, but I believe Mrs. Slatkin is another member, and the Pianist, Victor Aller, is her brother.
I’ll Google this later and edit it if necessary

Just Googled—
Everything correct- Mrs Slatkin played professionally under her maiden name, Eleanor Aller.
Some of my earliest records were the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra conducted by Felix Slatkin. I didn’t realize that he died at age 47 of a Heart Attack

[Barbirollians]

Just Googled—
Everything correct- Mrs Slatkin played professionally under her maiden name, Eleanor Aller.
Some of my earliest records were the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra conducted by Felix Slatkin. I didn’t realize that he died at age 47 of a Heart Attack

Not sure if still available but the HQ coupling of the Schubert Quintet and Verklarte Nacht on Testament is wonderful.

[gurnemanz]

I noticed that of my three recordings of this work, none is more recent than 1973 ....

Busch/Serkin 1938
Rubinstein/Guarneri 1966
Berlin Phil Octet/Werner Haas 1973 (the latter died tragically in a car crash a few years later, still in his 40s)

So I duly made amends by going via Spotify to Gaia Scienza, as mentioned above, (itself now 20 years old) and enjoyed it very much, hearing lots of things anew with its different sounds and balance between the instruments, gaining more insights into and greater general appreciation of this work.

Then the Hollywood with Aller was mentioned. I already had several recordings by them which are favourites: Shostakovich and Franck Piano Quintets, Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht, Schubert String Quintet. Also, more recently acquired, Brahms String Quartet op 52/2 on this good value 12CD cornucopia of classic Brahms chamber recordings. I duly went back to Spoty and listened to their op 34 (another old one). An exciting, noble reading with great depth and some old-fashioned swooping

Thanks for suggestions.

[jayne lee wilson]

I purchased the Hollywood Quartet recording recently after it was praised to the sky by a review magazine here. I had previously stumbled upon a set of lps of the Hollywood Quartets recordings in a second hand record store, but the Brahms was warped and untrackable. Surprised to hear that it is nla, maybe it will reappear soon as a download. It’s a fine performance but the early fifties recording is muffled and distant and dilutes the impact for me.
The first violin of the Quartet, btw, is Felix Slatkin, the father of Leonard. I might be mistaken on this, but I believe Mrs. Slatkin is another member, and the Pianist, Victor Aller, is her brother.
I’ll Google this later and edit it if necessary

Not sure which issue you refer to but the 1995 Testament 3CD set (SBT3063) I linked to above (#51) has exceptional mono sound for the time - or any time really. Audiophile catnip.
Marvellously vivid in-the-room presence, a lovely natural balance & tonal warmth, striking transparency through those string/piano textures. The Op.34 was one of the earlier tapings, from 1954, but its only slightly behind the later recordings for SQ, and even the Op.51/2 from 1952 comes over beautifully - just a little distanced. The others are 1957-8. Only minor SQ differences through the set - very consistent.
(The transfers are Abbey Road/Paul Baily, so you're in very good hands.... no sign of it on Qobuz sadly....)

Just playing now - Op.34 is wonderful in sound and performance, with that very essentially Brahmsian 19thC rubato....gosh, how these players respond to each other....
Iconic set for me, outstanding all through.

***
Just found this, haven't run the SQ rule over it yet..... won't be the same as Testament though....

https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/brahms-piano-quintet-op-34-mono-version-victor-aller-hollywood-string-quartet-felix-slatkin-paul-shure-paul-robyn-eleanor-aller/3614594381772

..uh-oh.....sounds like a typical BnF noisy needle-drop....

[LMcD]

This afternoon's repeated Lunchtime Concert included a performance by Alexander Melnikov and the Casals Quartet.

[richardfinegold]

Not sure which issue you refer to but the 1995 Testament 3CD set (SBT3063) I linked to above (#51) has exceptional mono sound for the time - or any time really. Audiophile catnip.
Marvellously vivid in-the-room presence, a lovely natural balance & tonal warmth, striking transparency through those string/piano textures. The Op.34 was one of the earlier tapings, from 1954, but its only slightly behind the later recordings for SQ, and even the Op.51/2 from 1952 comes over beautifully - just a little distanced. The others are 1957-8. Only minor SQ differences through the set - very consistent.
(The transfers are Abbey Road/Paul Baily, so you're in very good hands.... no sign of it on Qobuz sadly....)

Just playing now - Op.34 is wonderful in sound and performance, with that very essentially Brahmsian 19thC rubato....gosh, how these players respond to each other....
Iconic set for me, outstanding all through.

***
Just found this, haven't run the SQ rule over it yet..... won't be the same as Testament though....

https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/brahms-piano-quintet-op-34-mono-version-victor-aller-hollywood-string-quartet-felix-slatkin-paul-shure-paul-robyn-eleanor-aller/3614594381772

..uh-oh.....sounds like a typical BnF noisy needle-drop....

What is BnF? I have a feeling that what you are labeling as distanced, I am referring to as muffled.
I am having difficulty locating in finding HQ Brahms today...I’ve been moving piles of CDs around during quarantine as part of another attempt at reorganization, having run out of shelf space a few years ago, and my aural memory might be confused with the HQ Shostakovich Quintet, which I did find and I am spinning now, which sounds a bit muffled but certainly listenable.
I did look for a YouTube posting of the Brahms, but the only one found was taken down.
At any rate, my preference remains Fleisher/Julliard, and the Jando/Kodaly remains a strong alternative.