Customer Reviews

Brahms: Piano Quintet / Schubert: "Trout" Quintet - Amadeus String Quartet / Clifford Curzon

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Clifford Curzon and the Amadeus Quartet were staples of the London music scene for many years--the quartet persisted without a change in personnel for forty years. These live BBC recordings were made in Royal Festival Hall, known for its poor acoustics. The 1974 Brahms F minor Quintet fares worse of the two--the piano is suspended in an echoey space that blurs Curzon's articulation. But these are both soft-grained, genial readings anyway.

In the "Trout" Quintet, recorded three years earlier in 1971, the sonics are much better. All the instruments are clearer, and Curzon's piano sounds natural and well blended with the strings. This is relaxed music-making by old hands who know each other well. The Amadeus blend seamlessly. And yet I feel there are limitations. The "Trout" lacks imagination and buoyaant freedom, even though in its slightly earthbound way it's very enjoyable. The Brahms could use a good deal more incisiveness from Curzon; it's a shade too comfortable with its own mellowness.

Even so, these are very amiable readings, and as live performances go quite accurate and balanced ones as well.

I listen to the Amadeus Quartet's box set of Brahms Chamber music often; it is truly outstanding. Based on that experience and reviews I had read of this archive recording, here and in the major guidebooks, I bought this CD hoping for a positive experience. I was severely disappointed. The quality of the recording is poor - it seems as if only a single microphone pair was used - the sound is often swamped by the lead instrument, and the inner voices essential to Brahms are almost inaudible. When the piano is not leading, it rarely rises above the ensemble in the Brahms op 34. Yes, Curzon's live enthusiasm is infectious, making this a useful historical document, but too much of the time I was straining to hear him (with headphones on a Meridian CDP). The performance captured on Disc 2 of the box set is more enjoyable, but I have several other versions of both the Brahms Piano Quintet and Schubert's Trout Quintet, almost all of which are far better performances and far better recordings than these. Dollars better spent elsewhere.