Brahms: Piano Quartets Nos. 1, 2 & 3; Intermezzos, Op. 117

简介

Piano: Marc-André Hamelin String Trio: Leopold String Trio Hyperion is proud to present as its Record of the Month for November electrifying new performances of the three Brahms Piano Quartets: the celebrated Leopold String Trio is joined by Marc-Andé Hamelin. The G minor quartet (1861—actually Brahms’s second foray into the genre) offers a heady mix of unbridled gypsy vigour cast within a musical architecture of symphonic mastery, characteristics not lost on Arnold Schoenberg who later made an orchestral arrangement. The following year saw the premiere of the A major quartet, Brahms himself at the piano in offering to the world a work which would be hugely popular during his lifetime before falling inexplicably to the periphery of the repertoire in recent times. It was over a decade later, in 1873/4, that Brahms returned to his aborted C minor quartet: ‘Imagine a man who is just going to shoot himself, for there is nothing else to do’, wrote composer to publisher of this profoundly moving score. Much of the 1850s material is recast, and the resulting quartet is a tense masterpiece terminated by a cadence of perfunctory abruptness. Unsatisfied fatalism triumphs. This generously filled set is concluded with the Op 117 Intermezzos for solo piano. One of four late groups of piano pieces Brahms composed with his beloved Clara Schumann very much in mind, these exquisite miniatures find an eloquent interpreter in Marc-André Hamelin. The recorded sound here is astonishing, both in its immediacy and raw energy: every passionate nuance of Brahms’s Romantic vision is perfectly captured. Awards can be expected. With the proliferation of more and more recording labels and still more ensembles getting the opportunity to record their work, it is obviously increasingly difficult to bring anything truly original when performing works from the standard repertoire. Unfortunately, this fact may lead to some questionable performance decisions in striving for originality. Such seems to be the case with the Leopold String Trio and Marc-André Hamelin and their performance of the Brahms piano quartets. The primary issue arises with regards to tempo selection. The fourth movement of the G minor quartet, marked Presto in the score, comes to a virtual stop in the middle of the movement, completely robbing this usually vivacious and forward-moving movement of any excitement or interest. Although the tempo is recovered by the end of the movement, this does little to repair the damage that was done. Conversely, some sections are so fast that the string players can't even get a good, deep sound out of their instruments. The first movement of the C minor quartet is extremely unstable -- the tempo fluctuates almost constantly for no apparent reason. This alone is likely to leave a bad taste in the mouths of listeners, but there are other problems as well. The intonation in the strings is as inconsistent as the tempo. Balance is also a major concern. There are frequent passages where the viola may as well not be playing because it simply cannot be heard. Listeners looking for a good collection of these four masterpieces of piano chamber music should definitely look elsewhere.

[更多]

Disc 1

Disc 2

简介

专辑简介