Bruckner: String Quintet; Intermezzo; Strauss: Prelude to Capriccio [IMPORT]

Andrea Hess (Performer), Michael Sterling (Performer), Anton Bruckner (Composer), Richard [1] Strauss (Composer), Raphael Ensemble (Performer), James Boyd (Performer), Timothy Boulton (Performer), Anthony Marwood (Performer), Elizabeth Wexler (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Andrea Hess, Michael Sterling, Raphael Ensemble, James Boyd, Timothy Boulton, et al.
• Composer: Anton Bruckner, Richard [1] Strauss
• Audio CD (October 25, 1994)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Hyperion UK
• ASIN: B000002ZTY
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #326,333 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Sextet for 2 violins, 2 violas & 2 cellos (from the opera 'Capriccio'), Op. 85 (TrV 279a)

2. Quintet for strings in F major, WAB 112: Gemässigt

3. Quintet for strings in F major, WAB 112: Scherzo: Schnell - Trio: Langsamer

4. Quintet for strings in F major, WAB 112: Adagio

5. Quintet for strings in F major, WAB 112: Finale: Lebhaft bewegt

6. Intermezzo, for string quintet in D minor, WAB 113

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensuous musicality, June 11, 2000

By A Customer

The Strauss sextet from "Capriccio" is a rare example of sensuous intimacy by a composer better known for his larger scale works. The Raphael Ensemble are entirely at home with this beautifully and sensitively spun narrative and the sound is delicious throughout. The Bruckner Quintet is an even rarer example of chamber music writing from this composer and has a style which is unusual and eccentric, but totally captivating. The slow movement in particular is astonishingly beautiful in this performance and features themes so arresting and touching that they are equal to any produced by better known exponents of the genre.

This recording by The Raphael Ensemble does full justice to both works and is an essential item for the serious listener.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good old Bruckner on a smaller scale, August 7, 2004

By	Jeffrey Lee (Asheville area, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This lovely piece by Bruckner contains many of the very same features one typically finds in his symphonies, so that what one hears in this chamber context sounds rather familiar. But in addition, I sense a more endearing quality, a more innocent simplicity, which I find quite charming and which is reflected especially in the scherzo. This is followed by a wonderfully tender fourteen minute long adagio, which the Raphael Ensemble plays with considerable sympathetic expressiveness. In doing so it also projects a genuine spiritual quality. Again, as I have stated before about this group, it possesses a marvelous ability to stay in the most intimate touch with the music it brings to life. The close of this adagio is very moving. At the start of the final movement a winsome presence re-asserts itself, but soon one begins to hear the kind of gradual buildup to the end that is so typical of the symphonies. And, yes, the expected grand conclusion is there too, but of course within the context of a much smaller framework. So there you have it ! More Bruckner to love aside from his symphonies. And, in a highly commendable, most satisfying presentation.

Bruckner's brief ( just under 4 minutes ) Intermezzo in D minor also included here is a pleasant, warm sounding piece that is given the same caring treatment as the quintet.

The Capriccio-Prelude by Richard Strauss is somewhat reminiscent of his Domestic Symphony. It has a bit of what one would call in German an anheimeind (homey) quality. It is an amiable piece, also very musically played. However, I am more compellingly drawn to the works by Bruckner, which surely contain some sublime moments. And so do the performances of the the Raphael Ensemble.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best christmas Present, December 24, 2001

By	Student (UK) - See all my reviews

I loved this cd! Its one of those ones that can make you re-evaluate your opinion of a composer. Especially Strauss, The Quintet convey imense energy and make a beautifully pure sound. The content also seems well balanced.