Customer Reviews

Brahms: Complete Piano Quartets

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This collection of Brahms' piano quartets are a great listen all around. Every quartet has an enormous power and beauty to it.

I like to say about Brahms' music that it is airtight. There is never a wasted note. Every bit of melody, every nuance and texture in the harmony are masterfully crafted and serve a purpose. There is never a moment when you look at your watch and wonder when the composer is going to get around to wrapping this or that section up and get to the exciting stuff.

The Beaux Arts Trio along with Walter Trampler do a commendable job of bringing every moment of beauty and excitement out. They balance the sweetness of the slow movements and melodies well with the aggression and rhythmic complexities of the quicker movements. My current favorite quartet is the A Major. There is a singable melody or rhythmic puzzle in every movement. I listened to the final movement four times today (excessive I know, but it's just so much fun to try to figure out how Brahms manipulates those melodies within the time signatures)!

These are dense pieces and like a lot of Brahms could become overly heavy and plodding in the wrong hands. On this CD the Beaux Arts really bring out the romantic lyrical quality of this music unfailingly. The recording itself is just a hair distant but the detail is good. What fantastic piano one finds on these CDs! Strongly recommended.

After Bach, I think the compositional style of Johannes Brahms must be the most individually recognisable - at least in respect of his mature works; less so in the case of earlier compositions like the string sextets. However, these Piano Quartets are chock-full of typically Brahmsian melody and harmonic invention so that almost from the first bar, we readily are able to establish the composer's identity.

Another reviewer has mentioned the density of Brahms's writing. Nowhere is this more evident than in these works which have absolutely no fat or padding on them; every note has a particular purpose within the structure of the whole. Nevertheless, in most of these quartets, Brahms does hint at the exposition of a subject which might become one of his grand melodic set-pieces but after only a passing nod at development, the idea fizzles out. But before we can sense any disappointment, we are caught up in his next scheme. This is so very characteristic of this great composer.

Given that after the death of his friend Robert Schumann and the failure of his clandestine engagement to Agathe von Siebold, Brahms's emotions must have been at a low ebb so it is perhaps surprising that these quartets, with the notable exception of the C minor, generally are boisterous and optimistic. I particularly like the Andante third movement of the G minor quartet - this conjures visions of a drawing room performance of a broad melodic piece suddenly interrupted by the passing of a military band outside the open window. The platoon and music heads away towards the barracks and the calm of the original material returns. At least that's my fantasy - what Brahms had in mind, I have no idea. It's a curious and seemingly unrelated inclusion made even stranger by being in 3/4 time but it's great fun.

The Beaux Arts Trio, ably augmented by Walter Trampler's viola, play to their customarily high standard with the recordings (from 1973) also being good.

Very highly recommended.

I am an avid Brahms fan and just recently picked up this copy of the quartets. I love them! The rondo of the first quartet is fascinating and the pain in the C minor trio is unmistakable. As traditional as Brahms is, he is a definate romantic. I agree [...] about the last trio that is attributed to him. It isn't as good by far. The sound is very clear and the pianist on the recordings impressed me. If you don't own the quartets, go ahead and buy this set. You won't be dissapointed!

I have only recently begun to love Brahms and these recordings make me question why it's taken so long! The music is incredibly rich and colorful, especially the C minor, Werther's Ballad, which you can just feel Brahms pain at losing his friend Robert Schumann! The Beaux Arts Trio is a sure winner! You will enjoy this!

This is chamber music at its best played by the masters, the Beaux Arts Trio. All the pieces are played in a crisp, clean manner with the proper emotion and phrasing.

I'd give this CD 4,5 stars if I could. I never give 5 stars unless the CD is extraordinarily good. This CD is excellent and if one takes the price into condsideration too then it's clearly the best deal available for this music. The performances are first rate, the sound is really good - the accoustics are rich and full and there is a good balance between the strings and the piano (which sounds brilliantly). The works are of course masterpieces (most of them) and very enjoyable.

anybody who doesn't like brahms is a terrorist with a heart of IEDs!
at the price point ($7/cd when i bought it), this is a great deal. the performers are not my favorite, but i have to admit that it is an excellent value and a good recording overall. i look forward to enjoying it as i roll in an inflatable pool full of all the pennies i've saved....