An Unalloyed Joy!
J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 09/22/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111 &
Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25,
played by Christian Köhn and Silka-Thora Matthies, piano four hands
What a joy this series has been. We're up to volume twelve and although I know it has to come to an end sooner or later - Naxos hasn't told us yet how many volumes there will ultimately be - I frankly don't know when I've been so enthralled by a series of CDs. (I thank a friend in Cambridge, Massachusetts for putting me onto it in the first place.) I suppose there are those who sniff and say that we should simply stick with the music that Brahms himself wrote, and leave these piano reductions alone. But that's the point: Brahms DID write these arrangements and they are every bit as expert as the more familiar versions. In this volume we have two of his most beloved chamber works, and in smashing performances by the piano duet of Christian Köhn and Silka-Thora Matthies (who, btw, don't just play Brahms--they have a CD of music by contemporary German composer Giselher Klebe coming out this month and I'll be reviewing it soon).
As to the performances, they are, as we've come to expect, not only technically completely secure, they are musicianly and full of that inimitable Brahmsian warmth. One may miss the sound of the cello in the Quintet's vaunting opening theme or the sustaining quality of string chords in the slower passages, but there is much to be said for the clarity added by the piano timbre. (Need I add that I'm a pianist myself and willingly admit that I love the sound of the piano above all others, but perhaps only by a small margin.) Somehow Köhn and Matthies manage to give the illusion of string instrument legato in, say, the long-limbed melodies of Quintet movements II and III. And one must say that the ability to convey both the string sound AND the piano sound in the Piano Quartet is astounding. (How do they manage to do that without getting their fingers tangled up with those of their partner?)
One particular highlight: in the exciting gypsy rondo of the Piano Quartet the duo amaze with their breakneck tempo. They play it faster than I've ever heard it, and I can tell you from having played the piano part of this quartet myself, that is no small feat--those sixteenths notes come faster than the speed of light, particularly in the theme immediately after the first statement of the rondo theme. My goodness, this is exhilarating playing!
Need I say this CD is an unalloyed joy and an urgent recommendation to anyone who is even the least bit curious about Brahms's way with transforming two of his most treasured chamber works into piano duets. Yes!
TT=75:17
Scott Morrison"
Really Excellent...
Sébastien Melmoth | Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS | 01/16/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"
This is a very fine performance, recording of a great transcription by old papa Brahms. The whole four-handed series by Matthies & Kohn is highly recommended.
The two works featured here seem to me to work very well as 4-handed transcriptions because of the nature of their original forms of string quintet & piano quartet. I have a few reservations about Brahms' 4-hand setting of his string quartets, because of the essential timbral nature of the string quartet form: it works so well for his quartets, that I'm afraid that something is lost in transcripton to piano 4-hands. Nevertheless, these two pieces work very well.
Recorded sound is excellent."
Words cannot do justice to this fine series of Brahms rendit
Tom Brody | Berkeley, CA | 01/03/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This disc contains two pieces, the String Quartet No. 2 at 32 minutes and 57 seconds, and the Piano Quartet No. 1 at 42 minutes and 20 seconds. The sound quality is excellent. The sound is not muddy. The sound is not characterized by echos (some piano recordings sound like they were recorded in a bare apartment). The sound of the two pianos is just right.
The following is about the String Quintet:
ALLEGRO. The Quintet begins with a sparkling-sounding motif. This motif, which lasts some 60 seconds, would be good for accompanying a Disney cartoon where fairies flutter about casting spells with their wands. At 2 1/2 minutes, we hear a 20 second tune that is skittering and rapid, reminding me of running up a flight of stairs. At 3 1/4 mintues, the sparkling tune returns. The sparkling tune has a grandiose, optimistic sound, like a typical John Denver folk song. At 5 3/4 minutes, the flight-of-stairs tune is repeated, and again at 11 min and 15 sec, the flight-of-stairs motif occurs once again. In this entire piece, I liked the ALLEGRO movement the best.
ADAGIO. The ADAGIO is slow and quiet, and it begins with a tune having pop-sensibilities. The tune is reminiscent of IF I LOVED YOU, from Rogers and Hammerstein's musical called, Carrousel. At 4 minutes, IF I LOVED YOU is repeated, only louder. AT 5 1/2 minutes, we hear 10 seconds of noisy banging by the pianos. At 5 min, 15 sec, IF I LOVED YOU occurs yet again, only at a whisper-level volume.
POCO ALLEGRETTO. The tune is a whispy waltz in a minor key. At 2 1/2 minutes begins a segment lacking any distinct tune, but it is still a waltz. At 3 min, 50 sec, begins yet another segment, a quiet segment, not having any distinct tune, aside from a repeated rocking-chair motif, where the chords shift forcefully from dominant to subdominant to dominant again.
VIVACE. This begins with a lively, skittering tune, reminiscent of Mozart's RONDO ALLA TURCA. AT 50-60 seconds, we hear a little hornpipe. At 1 min, 20 sec, RONDO ALLA TURCA returns. At 2 min, 25 sec, begins a ten second episode of inspired liveliness. Again, at 4 min, 15 sec, until the very end, what occurs is another episode of inspired liveliness.
The following is about the next piece on this disc, Piano Quartet No. 1. Words cannot do justice to the regular chamber group version of this piece, or to the 2-piano version of this piece, as found on this disc. The only thing that I dare say is that this is one of the most listenable and enjoyable pieces of music ever composed and recorded.
I am glad that I discovered this series of Brahms recordings by Silke-Thora Matthies and Christian Kohn. These two artists have enriched our world with their devoted recordings of the available 2-piano transcriptions of the Brahms symphonies, piano concertos, German Requiem, and chamber ensemble pieces."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1