Customer Reviews

Dvorák: String Quartet No.12/Piano Quintet

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

 

 

One of the great works of chamber music played immaculately. Great sound given the age of the recording, and everything else about it -- the ensemble, the tempo, the dynamics -- is just right. With a piece as popular as this there is often the temptation for musicians to try to put their individual touch on it, but this recording has no self-indulgences.

The American Quartet has an "Old West" type of sound that I didn't hear until I listened to the piece three times. The more I listen to it, the more I really, really like it! The piano quintet on this disk is also very enjoyable. Worth buying, considering the price!

As a bargain coupling of Dvorak's two most famous chamber works, this CD can't be faulted. The Juilliard Qt. plays with alertness and vivacious rhythms in the 'American' Quartet, and the same forthright style flows over into the Piano Quintet with Rudolf Firkusny, a Czech pianist famed in his day as a Dvorak specialist. Even so, I don't find his playing as eloquent as Richter's in his classic performance on EMI, nor is the quartet as moving and satisfying as with the Alban Berg Qt., also on EMI.

Certainly these are enjoyable readings. I just don't find them anywhere near the best to be had on CD, and Sony's rather edgy digital sound, coupled with the Juilliard's somewhat stark sonority, isn't a great asset.

I can't believe Sony Classical has let this CD go out of print, it is so beautiful and idiomatic. The "American" string quartet, with its vigorous, folksong-like melodies, is of a glorious piece with the New World Symphony, and the Op. 81 Quintet is simply the most beautiful piece of music Dvorak ever wrote (which is saying something). Rudolf Firkusny qualified as one of the foremost authorities on the performance of Dvorak's music, and the Juilliard Quartet of course is simply beyond praise. Find a copy of this recording if you can, and here's hoping Sony gets the message and puts it back in print!