Track Listing

1. Octet, op. 7: Tres modere
2. Octet, op. 7: Tres fouguex
3. Octet, op. 7: Lentement
4. Octet, op. 7: Moins vite, anime, mouvement de valse bien rythmee
5. Quintet in A Minor, op. 29: Con moto molto moderato
6. Quintet in A Minor, op. 29: Andante sostenuto e cantabile
7. Quintet in A Minor, op. 29: Vivace, ma non troppo
8. Quintet in A Minor, op. 29: A tempo, un poco piu animato

Product Details

• Released on: 2002-05-21
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .28 pounds

From Amazon.com
If, indeed, this is the first recording of George Enescu's Piano Quintet Op. 29, where has this passionate, big-boned masterpiece been hiding since it was written in 1940? It has everything: long, surging melodies; ravishing harmonies best described as "red meat Fauré"; delicate counterpoint that suddenly explodes into orchestral ecstasy; sustained string lines decorated by magical keyboard flourishes. Stylistically, it sounds as if it could have been written before the same composer's Op. 7 Octet from 1900, whose terse idiom and restless polyphony wouldn't be out of place in Shostakovich. Nonesuch provides engineering that's roomy yet well-defined, and perfectly suited to these works. And how are the performances? Passionate and big-boned, for starters, and lovingly prepared. In the Octet, Kremer sometimes lunges at high notes with tremulous intonation, but not in the Quintet. If you're a chamber music fan bent on new discoveries, this disc is for you. Highly recommended. --Jed Distler