Brahms Piano & Clarinet Quintets

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Johannes Brahms, Béla Kovács

Label: Hungaroton

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 0

Mastering:

ADD

Catalogue Number: HCD11596

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Quintet for Piano and Strings Johannes Brahms, Composer
BartÓK Qt
Dezsö Ránki, Piano
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Quintet for Clarinet and Strings Johannes Brahms, Composer
BartÓK Qt
Béla Kovács, Composer
Johannes Brahms, Composer
It is a matter of where your priorities lie and the importance you may attach to each. If you insist that the CD you buy must be well filled to justify the outlay, then you will undoubtedly go for this new one since it contains both the Piano and Clarinet Quintets which make a generously long disc at well over the hour. The Philips CD with Previn has only the Piano Quintet and at 41'06'' is poor value. The Hungarians get the two works on to the CD because they omit the first movement repeats of both quartets, so that will affect your choice if your priority is to have every repeat observed. (The short repeats in the last movement of the Clarinet Quintet are, of course, played.)
Then there is the quality of recording, and good as the Hungaroton sound is, it is thick in comparison with the far more recently recorded Philips version. The balance on the latter is pretty good, where it is rather variable on this Hungaroton. The Piano Quintet is more successful in the matter of balance than the Clarinet Quintet, for the Clarinet is too closely recorded. I know that it is a vastly different sound from a violin: nevertheless the string instrument should not lack quality. And this weakness is emphasized when the two instruments are duetting, as they sometimes do.The Philips therefore is easily my choice for the Piano Quintet; but it is none the less fairly small measure for the price of a Compact Disc.'

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