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Andy D
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« on: 21:35:50, 25-10-2007 » |
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This evening I've been listening to, and enjoying, the Ax/Stern/Laredo/Ma recording of Brahms' op 26 piano quartet. This is a piece that I don't know that well although I've heard it live at least once. The double CD has also got the op 25 (which I know very well) and the op 60 (might know it, won't know until I play it).  There are lots of other great chamber works: op 34 piano quintet, op 40 horn/violin/piano trio, the clarinet sonatas, the violin sonatas. I stop there because I cannot get on with his string quartets at all. I've heard them quite a few times - op. 51 no. 2 as recently as 5th October at a concert given by the Belcea Quartet - and they never make any impression on me. Is it just me? Comments please. |
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« Last Edit: 21:49:54, 25-10-2007 by Andy D »
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thompson1780
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« Reply #1 on: 10:29:19, 26-10-2007 » |
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Well, sadly, i don't believe it is just you. But I love them.
I guess the problem may be something about it being hard to come up with a convincing performance. Some quartet (zucchini? zefferelli?) played a bit of the A minor on In tune the other day and it wasn't that good - dodgy intonation and something not quite right about the overall structure.
I played viola in the C minor some years ago - just rehearsing and never got round to performing - and its really hard to get things just right. There are so many lines to keep going and make sure are not lumpy, and things work at different levels too. So an individual line may need to grow, but in the context of the overall quartet diminishing. (Can't think of a specific example, but that was my memory of the type of difficulty).
I have the Cleveland on recording - not great, but equally definitely not the worst. Perhaps a little scratchy in one or two areas, but generally a good tone.
Tommo
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Made by Thompson & son, at the Violin & c. the West end of St. Paul's Churchyard, LONDON
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A
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« Reply #2 on: 21:50:33, 26-10-2007 » |
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I adore the chamber music with piano especially. The piano quintet, and trios are wonderful to play (tommo??) I also love the string sextets ... also wonderful to play. My problem really is I find most chamber music more fun to play than to listen to, although hearing it played well is a wonderful experience too. The string quartets are quite hard to play effectively I think, and although I have played a few I find others not too willing to cope with the string technique which involves rushing from so high to low very quickly. Also hearing your own part is quite hard as there is so much going on. But I can still remember the look on my fellows ' faces ( and mine probably) when we too got through the C minor in a satisfactory fashion !!!! Anyone want to give them a go..? SE London?  A |
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Andy D
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« Reply #3 on: 22:55:47, 27-10-2007 » |
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Heard the wonderful Schubert Ensemble play the Brahms op 25 piano quartet this evening  - the G minor one. It's funny I tend to go for the opus no. when talking about a piece but others - performers? - seem to go for the key; a third alternative, much more usual with symphonies, is the sequence no. ie this is no. 1. They really are an excellent quartet although they couldn't manage to make the Fauré which they started with (No 1 in C minor) come to life, I found it rather dull. But their Brahms was scintillating, such energy in the final rondo. The middle piece in their programme was by Pavel Novak, composed in 2000, quiet and easy to listen to. |
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C Dish
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« Reply #4 on: 01:31:34, 28-10-2007 » |
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The String Quintets are much better than the String Quartets. In fact, I also like the Sextets, especially opus 18.
The crowning achievement, however, is for me the Clarinet Quintet, glad I´m the first to mention it on this thread.
I share the general weakness for op. 25. Have you heard the Schoenberg arrangement for orchestra, with xylophone in the last movement? Certainly not to my taste, but plenty of verve!
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inert fig here
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A
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« Reply #5 on: 08:51:13, 28-10-2007 » |
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The String Quintets are much better than the String Quartets.
Sweeping statement cd..? A |
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Bryn
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« Reply #6 on: 09:00:23, 28-10-2007 » |
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The crowning achievement, however, is for me the Clarinet Quintet, glad I´m the first to mention it on this thread.
The late Brian Dennis had a particular regard for the Brahms Clarinet Quintet. He found one clarinet run to be the most perfect representation in music of projectile vomitting.  |
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Reiner Torheit
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« Reply #7 on: 09:05:19, 28-10-2007 » |
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I share the general weakness for op. 25. Have you heard the Schoenberg arrangement for orchestra, with xylophone in the last movement? Certainly not to my taste, but plenty of verve!
I believe Mr Sudden dislikes the arrangement, but I enjoy it (along with the original also). I feel the Schoenberg arrangement unlocks the inner breadth of the Quintet in a most revealing way - something like a medieval "gloss" on a well-known biblical text? One then hears the Quintet version in a fresh light as a result  The late Brian Dennis had a particular regard for the Brahms Clarinet Quintet BD was my lecturer for some while, and I remember his fondness for Brahms and Bruckner... he even conducted Bruckner orchestral works, which might surprise those who only knew his own music, which was quite different in ethos. |
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"I was, for several months, mutely in love with a coloratura soprano, who seemed to me to have wafted straight from Paradise to the stage of the Odessa Opera-House"
- Leon Trotsky, "My Life"
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Stanley Stewart
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« Reply #8 on: 13:21:22, 28-10-2007 » |
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Well worth acquiring is the Artemis Quartet/Leif Ove Andsnes recording of the Schumann - Brahms Piano Quintets, Op44 and Op 34 respectively. Sheer radiance in the andante, un poco adagio of Brahms's Quintet. These artists regularly appear at Andsnes's Risor Festival and their collaboration shines through in the recording.
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A
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« Reply #9 on: 13:45:47, 28-10-2007 » |
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Interesting, thanks Stanley.. I just have the Naxos recording... and I can't lay my hands on it at the moment)
It is interesting how these two fine piano quintets are nearly always put together on cd!
A
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C Dish
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« Reply #10 on: 03:16:37, 29-10-2007 » |
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The String Quintets are much better than the String Quartets.
Sweeping statement cd..? A I can't get into the string quartets. I think he felt more free in a medium which didn't remind people quite as much of Beethoven. Sorry to be so simplistic. |
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thompson1780
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« Reply #11 on: 14:17:19, 29-10-2007 » |
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I adore the chamber music with piano especially. The piano quintet, and trios are wonderful to play (tommo??) I also love the string sextets ... also wonderful to play. My problem really is I find most chamber music more fun to play than to listen to, although hearing it played well is a wonderful experience too. The string quartets are quite hard to play effectively I think, and although I have played a few I find others not too willing to cope with the string technique which involves rushing from so high to low very quickly. Also hearing your own part is quite hard as there is so much going on. But I can still remember the look on my fellows ' faces ( and mine probably) when we too got through the C minor in a satisfactory fashion !!!! Anyone want to give them a go..? SE London? A Hmmm - the Piano Trio in C Minor (op101) is a wonderful work, and really rewarding to play when you get it right. But it's very hard, and my last experience of it (a concert noted on these very boards) was a little disappointing because I wasn't quite on top of it enough. I have read through the other trios, and they look OK, but I really do like the quartets - maybe because I was Hull1980 (a violist) for these, which I imagine is a little more rewarding than 2nd violin. Oh, and the Horn Trio is great too! When I was learning that, I visited the small room in Baden Baden where Brahms lived for a while. Not much to report - other than he must have been driven mad by the Bells of teh BadenBaden Clock! Actually, I think I like all the Brahms Chamber music i have heard. Anyone care to mention the Songs for Viola, Soprano and Piano? Tommo |
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Made by Thompson & son, at the Violin & c. the West end of St. Paul's Churchyard, LONDON
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oliver sudden
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« Reply #12 on: 16:27:06, 29-10-2007 » |
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Contralto shurely? |
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thompson1780
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« Reply #13 on: 16:39:28, 29-10-2007 » |
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Ooops!
(Shows how much I was listening. Damned viola players.......)
Tommo
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Made by Thompson & son, at the Violin & c. the West end of St. Paul's Churchyard, LONDON
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A
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« Reply #14 on: 23:01:28, 29-10-2007 » |
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Yes tommo, I played the horn trio ( violin part I hasten to add!!) and enjoyed it a lot. Quite tricky though again... good for the soul all this Brahms IMHO !!!!
A
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