Klavierquintett

On this CD:

1. Piano Quintet, for piano & string quartet in G minor
Composed by Jean Sibelius
Performed by Pihtipudas Kvintetti

2. Quintet for piano & strings in E minor, Op. 5
Composed by Christian Sinding
Performed by Pihtipudas Kvintetti

Amazon.com

Schnittke's Piano Quintet, a creative response to his mother's death, is an austere, haunting work full of grief and tenderness that marks one of his early ventures into polystylistic writing. The opening piano solo is unique, a spare statement of puzzlement in the face of tragedy. It gives way to a waltz, as if recapturing a lost past, then the graceful dance melody literally disintegrates as the strings venture off into other regions, vainly trying to reassemble the theme and failing. At the end of its touching five movements the music's despair is transformed into serene, hard-won acceptance. Shostakovitch's 15th Quartet, his final statement in that form, premiered just months before his death. It's six slow movements are shot through with contemplative sadness and regret. The music is so rich in texture and substance that attention never flags. Performances of both works could hardly be bettered; Lubimov is an outstanding exponent of modern music (as well as traditional repertory) and he's superb here, as are the Kellers, whose intensity in both works is sustained made the more impactful by ECM's life-like sound. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Masterful new recordings of two 20th century masterpieces.......2004-08-15

Under the blue title in this interesting CD by the wonderful label Ecm wroth Lento, which means slowly. Two chamber pieces fill up this CD by two Russian Composers, Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) and Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975). The first piece, Piano Quintet is a very personal work by Schnittke. It is dark music, not an easy one, which will need to hear couple of times before understanding its full impact. Also given here a masterful performance by the Keller Quartet. The playing is solid and build up with tensions. The next piece is accurse by the great Russian Dmitri Shostakovich. So here we have his last chamber work, the String Quartet No. 15 which like Schinttke work is not an easy one. The composer worth it very closely to his death, almost without the ability to write it in his own hands. The long first movement, Elegie, is for me one of Shostakovich most spiritual music. The next movements are full of fear and shocks, maybe from death, and they lead to an enigmatic last movement. Here also the Keller Quartet gives a powerful playing. The Ecm production is also great. With detailed notes and well balanced clear sound, making those performances a top choice for those seeking alternative recordings of masterpiece chambers works of the 20th century.

Average customer rating:

One of the last recordings of this fantastic Quartett
Ripoff
Fantastic, but....
Amazingly, no room for improvement except in sonics
Excellent Performance

Brahms: Klavierquintett Op. 34

Manufacturer: Polygram Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Chopin: Nocturnes
Chopin: 4 Ballades; Fantaisie, Op. 49; Prelude, Op. 45
Brahms: The Complete Quintets
Brahms: Complete Piano Quartets

ASIN: B00000E3H2
Release Date: 1987-02-11

Tracks:

Allegro Non Troppo--Poco Sostenuto--Tempo I
Andante, Un Poco Adagio
Scherzo. Allegro--Trio
Finale. Poco Sostenuto--Allegro Non Troppo--

Customer Reviews:

One of the last recordings of this fantastic Quartett.......2007-05-28

The Quartetto Italiano is one of the mistics ensemble.They were fatastic in Beethoven (the last Quartets...)Ravel, Debussy, Webern, Mozart etc.This is one of the last recordings they did. And with Pollini, one of the most complete pianists of our time.This is my favourite recording of this music.I had the LP and now I have this CD. Maybe the time of the CD is short.But if you want to know this music this is the ideal recording.

Ripoff.......2006-07-11

And the major labels wonder why folks have deserted them...
$21 for 43 minutes of music is a disgrace, there is a serious error by the violinist, and the sound is just mediocre. I'd recommend you buy the Naxos with Jando and the Kodaly Quartet: good sound, excellent performance(s) - and the Schumann Quintet too.

Fantastic, but...........2006-06-15

Would an intrepid Deutsche Grammophone audio engineer please fix a blemish in this otherwise masterful recording? In the fourth movement at 1:12, the 1st violinist plays a high Gb that is a quarter-step flat. I know that this could be resampled delicately and placed in tune, using modern digital audio editing. If someone took the care to buff this recording to a lustrous finish, perhaps it would actually be *worth* $21.

What can I say? It's already been said. This performance is marvelous.

Amazingly, no room for improvement except in sonics.......2005-09-29

Pollini has the inexplicable ability to make you feel that his performance is irreducibly perfect and needs no comparison with anybody else's. That's true of his Chopin and just as true here, despite the wiry string sound and less-than-beautiful piano.

Piano trios, quartets, and quintets are notoriously hard to record. String instruments are tricky to begin with because of their high overtones, and so is the piano, because it can sound hard and glassy. Comvining the two is often the worst of both worlds--the violins sound screechy and weak, the piano too percussive and overbearing.

One recording that I turn to for sheer beauty of sound is the Tokyo Quartet with Barry Douglas on RCA, and their reading is musically fine as well. But Pollini and the Quartetto Italiano are a league higher in musicianship--at least on the piano side--and Pollini inspires a sense of urgency that is all to the good with Brahms. Five stars, without a doubt.

Excellent Performance.......2004-11-03

I've always admired this performance, but like the reviewer below, have had problems with the sound. The good news is that it was just released in Europe on the mid-priced DG Originals label. The piano sounds great, the strings a little thin in comparison, but overall the disc is a much better deal now.

Average customer rating:

Hummel: Piano Quintets

Manufacturer: Camerata
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Average customer rating:

Wilhelm Furtwängler: Klavierquintett

Manufacturer: Timpani
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000001YN9
Release Date: 1995-12-01

Tracks:

Pno Qnt in C: I. Allegro Molto
Pno Qnt in C: II. Adagio
Pno Qnt in C: III. Ruhig; Allegretto

Jean Sibelius: Klavierquintett g-moll; Christian Sinding: Klavierquintett e-moll, opus 5

Average customer rating:

Jean Sibelius: Klavierquintett g-moll; Christian Sinding: Klavierquintett e-moll, opus 5

Manufacturer: EDA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000025XDK
Release Date: 1994-01-01

Average customer rating:

Klavierquintett a-Dur

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0002NAD70
Release Date: 2006-12-19

Antonin Dvorák: Klavierquintett in A-Dur, Op. 81; Franz Schmidt: Klavierquintett in G-Dur

Average customer rating:

Antonin Dvorák: Klavierquintett in A-Dur, Op. 81; Franz Schmidt: Klavierquintett in G-Dur

Manufacturer: Preiser Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0001K9IIE
Release Date: 2004-08-31

Average customer rating:

Jean Sibelius: Klavierquintett g-moll; Christian Sinding: Klavierquintett e-moll, opus 5

Manufacturer: Eda Edition Abseits
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000004AE8
Release Date: 1995-12-12

Tracks:

Klavierquintett G-Moll: Grave - Allegro
Klavierquintett G-Moll: Intermezzo
Klavierquintett G-Moll: Andante
Klavierquintett G-Moll: Scherzo
Klavierquintett G-Moll: Moderato - Vivace

Tracks:

Klavierquintett E-Moll: Allegro ma non troppo
Klavierquintett E-Moll: Andante
Klavierquintett E-Moll: Vivace
Klavierquintett E-Moll: Finale. Allegro vivace

Salomon Jadassohn: Klaviertrio, Op. 85; Klavierquartett, Op. 77; Klavierquintett, Op. 126

Average customer rating:

Salomon Jadassohn: Klaviertrio, Op. 85; Klavierquartett, Op. 77; Klavierquintett, Op. 126

Manufacturer: Real Sound
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00009KU7G
Release Date: 2003-05-27

Music Review: