Customer Reviews

Bruckner: String Quintet; Schmidt: Piano Quintet [Australia]

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For someone who is a fan of the Bruckner symphonies they should know that
he did compose some wonderful chamber music and this quintet is a gem. An added bonus is the Schmidt who probably needs to be better known. I hadn't heard of him prior to getting this CD. This work was originally written for Paul Wittgenstein after he lost his arm, and he was the one for whom Ravel wrote his concerto for the left hand. This present work of Schmidt is actually redone for piano 2 hands, the permission for the revision given by Wittgenstein.

Good tonal quality (lush Viennese sound), hard-to-find late 19th Century small-ensemble masterpieces. The Bruckner, in particular, shows a different side of this composer, whose symphonies grew increasingly vexatious as he strove for bigger, and longer sound. Schmidt a pleasant surprise - largely a composer of big works: late harmonics, still conservative: worth listening for those who love Brahms, Mahler, and angst!