Piano Quintets

[jayne lee wilson]

Great recommendation, Jayne. Cheap (but new) copy arrived earlier. The Piano Quintet is indeed impassioned - and even more exhilarating than Martha Argerich. A joy!

Don't overlook that Chandos Chaconne I noted above...https://www.amazon.co.uk/Schumann-Pi...uintet+chandos

Period-instrument Schumann is scarcely thick on the ground and it is beautifully recorded & very rewarding. The Michelangelo Piano Quartet (no to be confused with the Michelangelo Quartet... ) appear to have recorded even less than the Gaia Scienza, which seems a shame based on the evidence of this disc.

Stream it on Qobuz or somewhere...

[MickyD]

Agreed, Jayne...I've been waiting for years for DHM to re-release Jorg Demus' beautiful recordings of Schumann on period pianos. But this one is available with the very young and lovely Elly Ameling, which everyone should hear:



At a very attractive price, too!

[Dave2002]

Great recommendation, Jayne. Cheap (but new) copy arrived earlier. The Piano Quintet is indeed impassioned - and even more exhilarating than Martha Argerich. A joy!

Cheap seems relative. Comes up at £17 from amazon uk, though other sellers have it for a tad over a tenner - e.g. from Switzerland.

It is available on Amazon unlimited, but possibly the audio quality via this listening mode doesn't do the performance justice. I'm listening to it right now, and wondering how much many of us are influenced by recording quality etc. as much as the original performance. A very good performance might draw one in irrespective of recording quality, but I have heard performances of pieces where dull transfers or other technical issues completely wipe out the nuances in a performance - yet on good equipment with a good source topy the same recorded performance can sound superb.

I couldn't find it on Qobuz - using fairly obvious search terms. I am predisposed to like this because of the period piano used. Just waiting to hear how the last two movements go. The scherzo often seems to me to be rhythmically incorrect in many performances, and I've just checked against the score at IMSLP and my hunch seems to be correct. Not sure if anyone else has noted this - but it has bothered me for many years. This performance does get the rhythm more or less right - IMO that is - though could be a tad faster. The last movement has started to flow rather nicely.

Not sure that I'd rate it as top of my list - but no doubt you're going to recommend that I buy the CD anyway to get better audio quality!

Maybe! I've still got a CD of Dohnanyi piano quintets to listen to - The Schubert Ensemble.of London.

PS: There are a few cheeky and surprising touches a few minutes before the end of the Schumann quintet, and the final section is beautifully done. You almost got me!

[BBMmk2]

Don't overlook that Chandos Chaconne I noted above...https://www.amazon.co.uk/Schumann-Pi...uintet+chandos

Period-instrument Schumann is scarcely thick on the ground and it is beautifully recorded & very rewarding. The Michelangelo Piano Quartet (no to be confused with the Michelangelo Quartet... ) appear to have recorded even less than the Gaia Scienza, which seems a shame based on the evidence of this disc.

Stream it on Qobuz or somewhere...

why did Chandos classify Schumann as early music?

[Bryn]

why did Chandos classify Schumann as early music?

Chaconne
In 1989 Chandos launched its early music label - Chaconne - which set out to present a cross section of early-music repertoire from Medieval to Classical, peformed on original or period instruments.

from Chandos website.

[MickyD]

why did Chandos classify Schumann as early music?

I think that anything using period instruments is classed as early music nowadays.

[BBMmk2]

I think that anything using period instruments is classed as early music nowadays.

Ah right! Seems a little odd to do that but I can see why it’s classifued like that.

[HighlandDougie]

Cheap seems relative. Comes up at £17 from amazon uk, though other sellers have it for a tad over a tenner - e.g. from Switzerland.

As I'm in France, I bought it from Amazon France Marketplace, where there was a copy for the equivalent of £6.50. Given the usual quality of the presentation of Winter + Winter CDs, that didn't strike me as excessive. And it's a lovely performance.

[gurnemanz]

Agreed, Jayne...I've been waiting for years for DHM to re-release Jorg Demus' beautiful recordings of Schumann on period pianos. But this one is available with the very young and lovely Elly Ameling, which everyone should hear:



At a very attractive price, too!

Thanks, Micky. It's a classic which I had somehow missed and only £4.62. I will snap it up.

[Dave2002]

As I'm in France, I bought it from Amazon France Marketplace, where there was a copy for the equivalent of £6.50. Given the usual quality of the presentation of Winter + Winter CDs, that didn't strike me as excessive. And it's a lovely performance.

There doesn't seem to be anything as cheap as £6.50 here yet.

Now you guys have got me on to a Schumann fest - tried the Chaconne version of the quintet. I think I preferred the scherzo more in that version - more of a sense of wild abandon - yet the rhythm doesn't fall apart as I feel it does in others. Listening to the quartet from the same CD now, and then following another hint I might look for others such as Argerich et al. for the quintet one or two more times today.

What was the last BAL recommendation? Not that I always take any notice of that, though.

[LMcD]

Leif Ove Andsnes /Artemis Quartet. Coupled with the Brahms Op. 34

[MickyD]

Thanks, Micky. It's a classic which I had somehow missed and only £4.62. I will snap it up.

Good, glad you are taking advantage of it, gurnemanz - one of my most cherished CDs.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Thanks, Micky. It's a classic which I had somehow missed and only £4.62. I will snap it up.

You won't regret it, gurne - it's a wonderful record.

[BBMmk2]

I kyD, would I like it?

[MickyD]

Ameling's voice is at her youthful best, but you will need to like the sound of an old piano, bbm. It's a beautiful recording belying its 1960s vintage.