Search - Johannes Brahms, Gaia Scienza :: Brahms: Piano Quartet, Op. 60 / Piano Quintet, Op. 34

Not many people's Brahms

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 06/16/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This CD features an Italian period group doing a couple of Brahms more famous pieces of chamber music, the Op. 60 quartet and Op. 34 piano quintet. This group has some passion and a little Brahmsian fervor, but no one will confuse them for an old time Brahms band. The period piano becomes very apparent in the first two movements of the quintet and its narrow tune gets in the way of enjoying the music. I listened to the Amazon excerpts before buying and did not realize this was a period group using a period piano. It was not apparent in the quartet. This is ultimately an unsatisfying effort by this group. In addition, the packaging leaves a very great deal to be desired. The CD comes in a hard cardboard box in an insert. There are no notes whatsoever and a four sheet foldout on the inside only offers some insipid quotes in English and Italian and some documentattion on the recording and instruments used by the players. For a full price CD listing at $18.98 in an era of downloads and the worldwide used CD aftermarket, you don't really get very much with this offering. The playing is secure but almost nothing else is up to snuff in the rest of this offering. Steer clear, I'd say."

Fervor and passion reign in this recording

F. HOU | Chicago, IL USA | 06/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Unlike the previous commentator, I knew exactly what I was buying: period piano, period strings etc., when I hastened to make my purchase. Well, a period piano in this case means that it was the kind of piano that Brahms knew and loved and wrote his music for. The pianist in this recording was more than adequate and the string players easily achieved a balance with her both in expression and in the actual sound. The texture is transparent and the expression both dramatic and natural. Try the scherzo movement from the quintet: the performance sounding beautiful and brutal at the same time, or, in terms of high romanticism, sublime."

Brahms Painted by Braque

Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 05/20/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I ordered this CD on the recommendation of Starry Vere, whose review is here next to mine. Then I promptly forgot why, even though it arrived in a mere two days. I put it in the player and sat down to get a taste, just a few minutes of it since I had other things to do. Whoosh! Seventy five minutes later, I was still sitting transfixed. This was Brahms as I'd not heard him before - Brahms with sharp corners and teeth, Brahms that sounded more like Bartok than that bearded overstuffed sofa that most piano ensembles furnish. Who are these futurist Italians that call themselves La Gaia Scienza? Is that a parody of the English title of Nietzsche's most amusing book, The Gay Science? The cover art is odd for sure: a young Brahms with a pistol where his eyes should be, but zilch for program notes.



I was all prepared to write this review as an apologia for departing so far from my usual canons of "historically informed performance practice" - to declare that though these rebels were discarding everything people have come to expect from traditional Brahms, I found it fresh and exciting. As my teenage son would say, I'm totally down with it, which translates as I like it.



Just for caution, however, I decided to read the other reviews and to check out other performances by La Gaia Scienza. Ho boy, am I red-faced this time! Turns out they are ultimate purists of historical practice, playing a pianoforte of exactly Brahms's era and setting up their strings and bows accordingly! I could try to cover my backside by saying 'no wonder I liked it.' But I won't. I was snookered.



Nonetheless, I really do like it. For one thing, the piano notes die cleanly and almost percussively, letting the subtler attacks of the strings be heard. The bow scrape is remarkably clear of white-noise raspiness; not being a string player, I'm at a loss about how they manage that unless it's simply the gut strings. Ensemble Archibudeli achieves some of the same tonal beauty on original strings on their recording of the Brahms Sextet.



There are at least 20 CDs on the market, of the best-known pianists and string quartets performing these two chamber works, so I can hardly claim Brahms is undiscovered or neglected, but I assure you that this performance is unique. It may turn out, especially if you are a great Brahms fan, that you hate it, but I strongly recommend giving it a try. It may open your ears."