The list above accounts for a third of the available competition in these popular pieces (and I have omitted any for the Janacek, which is a sextet though still a staple of the quintet repertoire like Hindemith’s Septet – included in the Berlin Philharmonic’s programme), which are perhaps the cream of the genre, and Nielsen’s the best of all. I am unaware of a comparable programme to this newcomer, the Prague Quintet’s coming closest, although the Aulos Quintet have recorded everything bar the Ligeti on separate discs for Schwann.
These new performances are all excellent, the Swiss players seeming a well-balanced group, though the fine Koch recording undoubtedly helped. Their earthiness of tone suits Mladi well, the Nielsen less so, though they get as close to the essence of this work as any of their rivals have managed with the exception of the Scandinavian players, for whom it was written in 1922 and who recorded it 14 years later. What I particularly like is the Swiss Quintet’s natural choice of tempos, often at variance with other groups’, as for instance in Nielsen’s first movement where they are a minute faster than the Bergen and Oslo. They also clearly enjoyed themselves, relishing the gentle humour as well as the more raucous moments in the Hindemith and Ligeti. First choice in the former is still the Concertgebouw (part of the Gramophone Award-winning two-disc set of the complete Kammermusiken), but the Swiss come next, equal with the Berlin Philharmonic Quintet, though without the distracting action of the German players’ instruments. As for the Ligeti, this is an electric account of a fun piece. If you do not already have these works start here; if you do these are more than viable alternatives. Recommended.'