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Schumann: Piano Quartets - Trio Parnassus

Schumann: Piano Quartets - Trio Parnassus

MDG Gold  903 1414-6

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical - Chamber


Schumann: Piano Quartet in E flat major Op. 47, Piano Quartet in C minor (1829)

Trio Parnassus:
Yamei Yu (violin)
Michael Groß (cello)
Chia Chou (piano)

Hariolf Schlichtig (viola)

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Review by John Broggio - July 3, 2006

This disc pairs the familiar with a juvenile work composed when Schumann was still a teenager. Sensibly, MDG & Trio Parnassus present the masterpiece first in a relatively straightforward but musically satisfying reading. The only real grounds for complaint might be that some will find the piano relatively thin on tone (not a fault of Schumann's writing!) which is most evident in the Scherzo and so doesn't match the string tone on display. The beautiful Andante cantabile is played without mannerism but perhaps not quite enough characterisation to prevent it appear a little saccherine.

The earlier quartet is nice without being distinctive - one is reminded of immature Mendelssohn in the opening movement. In the Menuetto, one can hear Schumann experimenting with the rhythmic devices he would later employ to great effect in his mature piano works. The Andante is pretty (but some might add "bland") and the Finale is another affair that isn't really very distinctive (this is vaguely Schubertian in musical material). I won't be returning to this quartet that often, well though it is played.

In both quartets the Trio Parnassus are joined by Hariolf Schlichtig on viola and they sound like they have been making music together for a large number of years - there is no fear of an "outsider" rocking the musical boat here.

The sound itself is curious - the MCH layer is designed to be 2.2.2 (see discussion for explanations) rather than 5.1 and so, whilst being perfectly reasonable is by no means state of the art with the positioning of the instruments harder to place than if the conventional mix had been adopted. In this way, the stereo layer is preferable. The piano is quite harsh in the higher registers and a bit muddy down below but from the clarity of articulation this is more the recording than playing in my view.

For Schumann completists, this is a purchase that will not offend anyone especially if you listen in stereo.

Copyright © 2006 John Broggio and HRAudio.net

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