Amazing pieces of classical music - 31
Franz Schubert's "Trout Quintet", or rather his Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667, Op. 114, composed in the summer of 1819 after a trip to Upper Austria, should certainly not to be missed out in the row of amazing pieces of classical music, and in Kenneth Clark's BBC tv-series Civilization one can hear indeed its second movement (Andante) with the Amadeus Quartet once again and Hephzibah Menuhin (the adventurous sister of Yehudi Menuhin) at the piano from a recording made in 1958.
Besides the usual intimacy that accompanies every performance by this young Amadeus Quartet, there's also the careful phrasing and judicious tempi, and the respect every musician shows to the composer, which certainly make them in this performance very attractive to listen to. The ensemble scores with a distinctive sound, where each instrument has its own colour and phrasing, unlike some of the more homogenized sounds we hear today.
Hephzibah Menuhin was no Alfred Brendel, and she doesn't dominate nor dazzles here. She was, however, a very accomplished chamber musician, having played and recorded frequently with elder brother Yehudi. Hephzibah did not lead the life of the virtuoso pianist though. She lived for nineteen years in Australia with her sheep farmer husband, and during her lifetime she was also a feminist, social worker and reformer as well as a musician.
This Schubert Piano Quintet, unlike his String Quintet, is rather more of a lightweight work that requires a whole different approach. With Hephzibah Menuhin on piano and superb support from James Edward Merritt on double-bass (instead of Siegmund Nissel on violin), this performance is a delight. In short, the performance has a lightness of touch, strong underpinnings from the cello and double-bass, and again, an impeccable phrasing.
The sound is not wonderful, but is quite respectable for the year in which the performance was recorded. The separation of the instruments is excellent, and one does get a good sense of the space in this early stereo recording. The playing is what matters most here, and the Amadeus Quartet are in their prime and very definitely in their element. They combine authority with charm, and moreover, the five musicians work together supremely well
[media=https://youtu.be/Y_Q26gsaQqs]
Besides the usual intimacy that accompanies every performance by this young Amadeus Quartet, there's also the careful phrasing and judicious tempi, and the respect every musician shows to the composer, which certainly make them in this performance very attractive to listen to. The ensemble scores with a distinctive sound, where each instrument has its own colour and phrasing, unlike some of the more homogenized sounds we hear today.
Hephzibah Menuhin was no Alfred Brendel, and she doesn't dominate nor dazzles here. She was, however, a very accomplished chamber musician, having played and recorded frequently with elder brother Yehudi. Hephzibah did not lead the life of the virtuoso pianist though. She lived for nineteen years in Australia with her sheep farmer husband, and during her lifetime she was also a feminist, social worker and reformer as well as a musician.
This Schubert Piano Quintet, unlike his String Quintet, is rather more of a lightweight work that requires a whole different approach. With Hephzibah Menuhin on piano and superb support from James Edward Merritt on double-bass (instead of Siegmund Nissel on violin), this performance is a delight. In short, the performance has a lightness of touch, strong underpinnings from the cello and double-bass, and again, an impeccable phrasing.
The sound is not wonderful, but is quite respectable for the year in which the performance was recorded. The separation of the instruments is excellent, and one does get a good sense of the space in this early stereo recording. The playing is what matters most here, and the Amadeus Quartet are in their prime and very definitely in their element. They combine authority with charm, and moreover, the five musicians work together supremely well
[media=https://youtu.be/Y_Q26gsaQqs]
