Customer Reviews

Schubert: Quintet in C major,D.956 / The Shepherd on the Rock

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Though this is indeed an unusual combination, I don't agree with the previous reviewer -- there is absolutely no reason to give this wonderful CD less than 5 stars. In fact, if I could, I'd give it more! Both pieces, I must admit neither of which was I familiar with before this, are exquisite jewels of Schubertian melody and beautiful, unexpected harmonic turns. The quintet is played with much love and devotion by the Marlboro crew assembled, and what can one say about the other piece -- "The Shepherd On The Rock"? The legendary Rudolf Serkin is at the piano (a better chamber player never existed), the brilliant Harold Wright is on clarinet, and the beguiling, bewitching soprano Benita Valente is at peak form here -- such purity of tone and lovely, delicate phrasing! This piece was recorded in the late 50's, but not to worry -- the sonics are just fine. This was truly a find. Personal note: this was recommended to me by the great Rudolf Serkin's grandson -- how could I resist? I'm glad to report that he certainly didn't let me down!

Though recorded in 1986 at a live performance at the Marlboro Festival where outdoor ambience can either enhance or detract from 'pure music', this elegant recording of The Schubert Quintet in C major coupled with 'The Shepherd on the Rock' is right up there with the best of them. The quintet is especially sensitively played and the recorded sound, while a bit forward, still encourages appreciation of the communication among the five string performers.

"The Shepherd on the Rock" is a favorite work, loved by chamber musicians. Written for voice, piano and clarinet - each of equal importance - it is a lovely mood piece. The performers here are the inimitable Rudolf Serkin playing with his usual refinement, Harold Wright providing the clarinet obbligato, and the rare opportunity to hear Benite Valente in top form, sailing through Schubert's lines and high tessitura with seemingly no effort.

If you are looking for the most open and tender 'Shepherd' available, look no further. A very fine recording of an important music festival that celebrated some of our best musicians. Grady Harp, April 05

On occasion we come across a piece that catches our heart for no apparent reason. It is not the greatest one ever, nor it needs to be a supreme quality achievment. It just needs a certain "je ne sais quoi" that allows it to reach to our "inner musical child". This recording did it to me. Not for the quintet, which is superbly played anyway, but for "The Shepherd on the rock". We have Benita Valente singing the amorous longing of a young shepherd, accompanied by a clarinet and a piano (Wright and the great Rudolf Serkin). A most unusual combination. The effect is terrific. And the accomplished performance is a big plus. I would have given it a 5 stars, but the quality of the recording and the mismatching of the two pieces makes me take one star off. But by all means I recommend it highly.

Many consider Schubert's String Quintet one of THE pinnacle masterpieces in the entire chamber repertoire. With its many and diverse emotional moods, memorable lyrical themes, dense textures, and its tonal richness from 5 strings (w/ two cellos), the quintet is clearly a masterpiece. Much of Schubert's chamber and leider music flowed from small, festive gatherings with his musical friends ("Schubertiades") and that kind of intimate spirit is captured in this festive, live performance. This recording can compete with the best in terms of sound and performance and is quite lively and vivid - partly from the dynamic of a live performance. You can clearly feel this energy and a sense of spontaneous music-making in the highly-spirited last two movements of the quintet. Lead violinist Pamela Frank brings a gorgeous tone and technique to these works - albiet one more focused on the moment than on clinical perfection in a studio. While not the highest-profile violinist around, Ms. Frank brings a refined technique and much artistry to the music she plays (her Beethoven violin sonatas being one fine example).

For those not familiar with the Marlboro Festival ... no, it was not an event sponsored by the cigarette company but was an annual summer gathering for decades in rural Marlboro, Vermont of some of the best veteran and budding talents (like Ma, Perahia) headed by the legendary pianist and teacher, Rudolf Serkin. The quintet was recorded in 1986 while the song in 1960 which is quite lovely here. With minimal agenda and pressure in a lovely retreat setting, these musician followed their deepest musical inclinations, honed their talents among legends and often came up with memorable performances such as this Schubert quintet. Compare the clips to others and you can sense how good it is.

As much as I admire the polished (studio) version of the Quintet from the Alban Berg Quartet, I must say I like this version even more for its live dynamic and the way the background strings create a greater sense of drama in the final movement by sustaining their harmony passages versus a more stacatto effect as most others do. Plus, the Marlboro group gives the first movement its due drama by retaining the often-omitted repeat. Another strong performance comes from the Emerson Quartet on DG if you like their bolder manner of playing. The second song piece on this CD (with piano, clarinet accompanyment) is most lovely and sensitively played/sung. I am not familiar with Schubert's songs, but it seems the gently-meandering and melodic performance here captures what he must have had in mind. From such songs with their natural spontaneity and lyricism, you can appreciate why Schubert was one of the finest and prolific composers in the leider genre. 4.5 stars.

Note: while the Amazon text lists Yo Yo Ma as one of the two cellists, it is not the case (Wiley, Lichten).

The Quintet in C on this disc is a marvellous, enthusiastic version, well-played and clearly recorded. The participants bring out nuances of the individual parts that you might not have noticed before. And the ensemble as a whole makes a very well organized and effective version of a great piece of music.

This sublime piece, Shepherd on the Rock, presents three world class performers and perhaps the worlds greatest clarinetist: Harold Wright. As a clarinetist who has studied with both Chicago Symphony and New York Philharmonic Clarinetists for years, I marvel at Harold and consider him a sublime combination of a nearly perfect performer: wondrous tone, sublime interpretation and top technical skills. Along with the piano and soprano performances, it is a glorious showpiece for the three and for Schubert. Harold's control in the whole range of sound, high to low and piano to forte is something to marvel at. Enjoy this wonderful recording.

This is an excellent recording. Of course, both are wonderful pieces of music. Shepherd on the Rock is a beautiful song - probably the last that Schubert wrote before his death. It was written especially for a friend to sing. It has a lot of drama, and those lovely melodies that just flowed out of Schubert. I highly recommend this CD.

By 1986 the Marlboro Festival had acquired up-to-date recording equipment, so this live Schubert Quintet in C sounds very good, the strings natural and sweet, the balance perfect. (I am going on faith with an earlier reviewer, since the jacket notes don't say that this is a live performance, or that it was recorded at Marlboro. At later dates sony also made recordings in New York city on the festival's behalf.) The ad hoc group is led by old hand Felix Galimir and a young Pamela Frank - she is first violin. This is an inspired, vibrant reading of a work considered one of Schubert's sublime masterpieces, the last large work he composed; it was finished four weeks before he died in 1828.

I'm posting a revised version of an earlier review in which I found places where the performance seemed a bit foursquare. Coming back after five years, I appreciate the poised beauty to be heard here, as opposed to overly aggressive readings such as the one from the Alban Berg Quartet. The Adagio takes 16 min., a pace that's very hard to maintain when there's not enough intensity, but there is here. The Quintet in C responds to the greatest emotional depth one can give, and although these Marlboro performers take few risks, unlike the classic Prades Festival recording from the Casals era, also on Sony, I don't miss an impassioned Pablo Casals. The beautifully matched pair of Julia Lichten and Peter Wiley prove that you don't need a star, in fact, as the additional cellist. Few works, even by Schubert, are as heart-rending as this one, and I can hardly imagine a more moving reading.

The coupling, from twenty years earlier, is Schubert's last work as he was dying, the sublime song Der Hirt auf dem Felsen (which, if translated literally, means something comical: Shepherd on the Rocks). Benita Valente sings with rapturous ease, inspired by Rudolf Serkin's wise piano playing and the superb clarinet obligatto of Harold Wright, the best American clarinetist of his generation. A treasurable performance. The whole album is unmissable.