Fauré: Piano Quartets

Gabriel Faure (Composer), Emanuel Ax (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Emanuel Ax
• Composer: Gabriel Faure
• Audio CD (January 12, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000027U7
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,829 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FINESSING FAURE, November 8, 2001

By 

Melvyn M. Sobel "Melvyn M. Sobel" (Freeport, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fauré: Piano Quartets (Audio CD)

Gabriel Faure (1845-1924) inhabits a "sound world" uniquely his own: moody, harmonically complex, sometimes neurotically so, melodically elusive. Less readily accessible than either of his French contemporaries, Debussy and Ravel, Faure's chamber music, nonetheless, is infinitely rewarding and certainly should be more widely recorded and available.

This remarkably rich offering of Faure's only two piano quartets (in C Minor, Op. 15 and G Minor, Op. 45) will, no doubt, go a long way in re-energizing interest in this coupling of the composer's most "popular" ensemble works. The reason is obvious: Ax, Stern, Ma, and Laredo. These musicians, glorious all, bring to Faure a warmth, freshness, depth, clarity and affection I've never heard in any other interpretation. Rather than dwelling on the somber, often disturbing musical elements Faure can manifest, these remarkable performers infuse the music with a robust charm, full-blooded emotional intensity and a delicious sense of pluck that is irresistibly impish--- all seeming easily and spontaneously generated.

Accessible is a word that is critical here. All too often, and Faure is no exception, it is the performance that can make or break a composition, especially on initial hearing. Faure needs finessing, understanding, simpatico; otherwise, his chamber compositions can sound a tad oppressive. Musicians, like these, who reach into the very core of Faure and retrieve the penultimate glories of his searching, timeless Adagios, who can transform opening Allegros into masterpieces unto themselves, and whose playing radiates the subtle, naive delight imbued in the Scherzos, are the kind of incredible artists who enable Faure to have his say and to become readily and beautifully accessible.

Violinist Stern and violist Laredo meld effortlessly, yet elucidate Faure's complex writing sublimely, while Ma's cello is always supportive, never intrusive, and pianist Ax, superb throughout, keeps apace of every mood, every shift in design, every nuance--- and never center-stages himself. The integration of this ensemble, particularly in these Faure piano quartets, is a miracle to hear, their playing raising these works to near pinnacle height; yet, at the very same time, keeping Faure entirely approachable. The recording itself, too, is a revelation: warm, full, detailed and thrillingly realistic. The "presence" of these musicians is immediate.

[Running time: 66:54]

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Classic Quartet, January 1, 2001

By 

Michael B. Richman (Portland, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fauré: Piano Quartets (Audio CD)

Virtuosos Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax, Isaac Stern and Jamie Laredo have once again struck chamber gold. The group responsible for classic discs of piano quartet music by Beethoven/Schumann, Brahms, Dvorak and Mozart (see my reviews of the latter two) have recorded another gem with this album. Coming from a jazz background, I can only compare these men's musical understanding and familiarity to that of the classic Coltrane Quartet. As far as the compositions go, Faure's two piano quartets were written in the 1880s, and they are hauntingly beautiful, and surprisingly dense and layered. While Faure is not as well known as the five classical composers mentioned above, this disc should do a lot to remedy that problem.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Gem, March 20, 2008

By 

JP Nightingale - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fauré: Piano Quartets (Audio CD)

For some reason, outside France Fauré is only really known for his Requiem. While the Requiem is undoubtedly a masterpiece, it's generally overlooked that he was also a phenomenally good composer of chamber music. All of it is excellent, but for many it's these two piano quartets that really stand out.

This is intensely melodic, richly layered music which manages to be consistently surprising and, at the same time, immediately accessible. It's apparent simplicity and emotional power combine to give a sense of hearing something new on every listen.

There are plenty of brilliant versions of the Piano Quartets to choose from, including Domus, but this Emanuel Ax led combo here is difficult to go wrong with. The playing is never showy or over the top but is perfectly balanced in a way that allows the emotion and passion of the music to speak for itself.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this CD to anyone even slightly interested in the music of Fauré. If you don't know it, you're in for a real treat!