An original selection of Spanish works for quartet, from that of Arriaga (1823), a precocious genius who died at the age of 20, up to the consecration (1950) of the guitar as a classical partner, thanks to the meeting of Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Andrés Segovia.

PRD DSD 250 295

This CD associates three clarinet chamber masterpieces, two that Mozart dedicated to Anton Stadler, his ‘brother’
in his masonic odge, including the famous ‘Skittle trio’ – which is said to have been written within no more than
the time of a skittle game – and the Quintet, as the forthcoming concerto K 622, exploits all the resources of the
instrument, particularly its low register, and offers, in the second larghetto, one of the most beautiful nocturnal
songs ever written, sublime effusion of melody played by the clarinet over strings con sordino. A third one is offering
Weber’s Quintet dedicated to Heinrich Josef Bärmann, a fantastic German soloist and composer.
 ________________________________________________

PRD 250 307   

_________________________________________________

Previously unpublished set of chamber music by Franz Schubert : the two less known intimate string Trios, and his
large and last score, the Quintet D 956 (1828). The quintet is Schubert’s farewell together to chamber music and to
life… As the contemporary famous Symphony in C D 944, known as ‘the Great’…

__________________________________________________________________________________________

PRD 250 311 

___________________________________________________________________________________________

MIECZYSŁAW WEINBERG – CHAMBER MUSIC

As we are approaching Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s centenary, the musical world and Poland, his homeland, rediscover the huge catalogue of his works. First considered as an ordinary follower of Dmitri Shostakovich, his friend and patron, we may have now the revelation of the composer’s originality in all works not done merely for earning his living: lyric, orchestral and chamber music… Here, the Zemlinsky Quartet proves themselves to be the real successors of the famous Borodin Quartet.

_______________________________________________________________________________

PRD/DSD 250 296

_______________________________________________________________________________

Shostakovich began his career with hopes of becoming a professional pianist, and throughout his life he maintained a close
association with this instrument. He enjoyed playing in private and in public, and recorded compositions of his own in the
1940s and 1950s. Some of his most ebullient (Piano Concerto No.1, Op.35) and personal (Jewish Folk Poetry Op.49, Preludes
and Fugues, Op.87) scores were written for the piano. Many of his piano recordings are unfamiliar to classical music lovers
because of their poor sound quality, but this compilation makes for enjoyable listening.
________________________________________________________

PRD 250 365-366

________________________________________________________

This double album comprises all Brahm’s quartets and quintets as performed by the Budapest quartet. They succeeded in imposing chamber music by the composer of Ein deutsches Requiem on a musical world which only had ears for Beethoven. It served as a model for a whole generation of musicians such as Berg, Pražák and Belcea, who in turn followed on from the likes of Julliard and Vegh. This is a tribute toWalter Trampler (1915-97), the great American violist, native of Berlin.

_________________________________________________________

PRD 250 348

_________________________________________________________

An original but logical pairing of these works written jointly in 1876 for a competition organised by the Russian Music Society.‘The jury found my sextet worthy of an honourable mention but did not take my quintet into account.’ In a sort of posthumous revenge, he might point out that the name of the winner, Eduard Nápravník (1838-1916), is barely known outside of musical reference works.

___________________________________________________________

PRD 250 362

Far removed from traditional musical fare, the two violas are the only thing that these six quintets have in common. They provide the melodious bass so beloved of Mozart, the distinctive stamp of his K.515/316 diptych, a precursor of the expressionism of the Romantic era. The Budapest Quartet, at its apogee, provides the ultimate interpretation of these works, expressed with eloquence by Walter Trampler on the viola.

_________________________________________________

PRD 250 370

_________________________________________________

Two extremes. A young Beethoven pays tribute to Mozart’s string quintet K.515 with Op. 29 and to his quintet for piano and winds K.452 with Op.16. Then, almost twenty years later he produces his Great Fugue, unleashing potential for a 16 string ensemble. The Budapest String Quartet shows how a bold fusion of princely salon music and innovative fugue can combine great power with virtuoso elegance. A timeless revelation.

___________________________________________________________

PRD 250 381

___________________________________________________________

The Budapest String Quartet in Washington (1959-1961)

In these years of 1837-42, Mendelssohn was at the height of his humanist glory, concurrently violinist, violist, pianist, composer, conductor (of the Gewandhaus in Leipzig), still a painter in his already too-rare spare time, and a newlywed… ‘At the moment, everything comes so easily and so nicely under my pen’, he wrote the Opus 44 Quartets with their radiant, virtuoso allegros and slow movements tinged with nostalgia – irresistible ‘songs without words’ for strings. The Schumann’s Op.41 String Quartets and Piano Quintet Op.47 are considered as finest compositions and major works of nineteenth-century chamber music. This Op.44 revolutionized the instrumentation and musical character of the piano quintet and established it as a quintessentially romantic genre.

_________________________________________________________

PRD 250 391

_________________________________________________________