Search - Brahms, Takacs Quartet, Stephen Hough :: Brahms: String Quartet, Op. 51 & Piano Quintet, Op. 34

BRAHMS, THE TAKACS QUARTET, STEPHEN HOUGH--WOW!

GEORGE RANNIE | DENVER, COLORADO United States | 12/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Brahms' "Piano Quintet" is my absolute favorite piece of classical chamber music. It is the composition that "opened the door" to my intense "love affair" with chamber works by especially Brahms and for my insatiable appetite to listen to same. This recording is simply marvelous (I own quite a few.) Mr. Hough along with the Takacs String Quartet are at the top of their talented forms. The aforesaid performers really do give Brahms' quintet a splendid reading that is filled with beautiful tones, a keen since of rhythm along with emphasizing Brahms' many sonorous harmonies. For the first time I was made very aware of the many beautiful "inner voices" of the work--gorgeous! Stephen Hough and the Takacs are really up to the many challenges of the work expressing Brahms' fierceness as well as his tenderness so very well. In summation, Bravo to all. Johannes Brahms string quartet #2 in A Minor is also included in this recording.



Brahms' string quartets as with Beethoven's last quartets have never really been very appealing to me; however, the Takacs Quartet, in this recording, plays the Brahms' #2 most beautifully. I enjoyed this performance better than any that I have previously heard--they are so very good playing with very beautiful tone and playing very rhythmically.



If you love chamber music by Brahms, as I do, buy this album because it finds the composer and the performers at their peaks!



As expected the Hyperion label is up to their "Rolls Royce" standards in sound. The recording is so very rich and full.

"

Suberb Quartet, Good Quintet

Russell I. Burnett | Newark, DE, USA | 01/14/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I too absolutely love the Brahms Piano Quintet Op. 34 and have heard a handful of other recordings (Nash Ensemble, Quartetto Italiano/Pollini, Emerson/Fleisher, Concertante). I'm also a big fan of the Takacs Quartet, so I thought this recording of the Quintet would be worth a try. However, to my surprise I prefer both the Nash and Quartetto Italiano recordings. The Takacs play the piece well, but I'd like them to slow things down a bit, especially in the first movement. Their tempo provides the piece with a lot of power and forward movement, but I also feel it comes at the expense of some of the beauty.



The Takacs recording of the String Quartet Op. 51 No. 2, however, is marvelous. I had already heard a few other recordings of Brahms' three string quartets (Tokyo, Alban Berg and Emerson), and all had left me ranking Brahms well below other composers (e.g. Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert and Borodin, to name a few) on the string quartet ladder. The Takacs changed that. This is easily the best version of this quartet I've heard, and I'm now anxious to hear their recent release of the other two Brahms string quartets as well."

A mixed bag of Brahms chamber music

Ivor E. Zetler | Sydney Australia | 03/12/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Brahms Piano Quintet is the more popular and approachable of the two works on this well filled CD. Stephen Hough and the Takacs Quartet give a lyrical rendition of this composition. While their playing is competent enough, the performance really did not hold my attention. A significant problem with this issue is the diffuse and poorly balanced sound; furthermore the prominently recorded first violin has a slight shrillness that is distracting. I felt that the venerable 1950 Budapest/Clifford Curzon mono version (Naxos)was much more comfortable to listen to and proved to be a far more satisfying rendition.



The Second Quartet receives a more blended sound and the Takacs quartet give a good rendition. However comparison with the Italian and Alban Berg Quartets finds the competition having somewhat more realistic sonics and giving more authoritative interpretations."