It is good to see that Stanford’s Piano Quintet, a work that stands up more than respectably against other Romantic works of that genre by Schumann, Brahms, Dvořák and Fauré, has been recorded again after Hyperion’s superb interpretation by the Vanbrugh Quartet and Piers Lane as long ago as 2005. Dedicated to Joachim, probably Stanford’s most significant mentor, the Quintet is one of the composer’s most symphonic chamber works, conceived on a grand scale (almost 40 minutes) and containing some of his most inspired music. Moreover, after its completion in March 1886 and first performance in Cambridge the following June, it heralded a series of major new works including his Third and Fourth Symphonies and Suite for violin and orchestra (also written for Joachim), composed between 1887 and 1889.

This performance by members of the Rundfunk-Symphonieorchester Berlin with the pianist Nikolaus Resa does not disappoint. The first movement has an attractive sense of mystery engendered by the darker opening material and this is nicely contrasted with cello’s deliciously lyrical second subject and countermelody. The Scherzo has an incisive rhythmic drive in the outer sections (though I would perhaps have favoured a little more fire in the attacks). Nevertheless, the dynamics given to Stanford’s more numinous harmonies in the closing bars are highly effective and felicitously executed. I particularly enjoyed the clarity of the texture in the slow movement, where Stanford’s counterpoint is masterly. Here the balance of sound is at its best and the euphonious fabric of the strings is especially compelling. Some may find the slightly slower tempo of the finale conducive to the detail of the string-writing, though for me it slightly detracts from the rhythmic momentum of the second subject and the compelling development of material, which really builds up a head of steam at its climax in the Hyperion recording. Still, this is a performance that warrants repeated hearings to enjoy the high quality of Stanford’s invention and his consummate understanding of this special combination of piano and strings.

It is also nice to have new recordings of two of the three Fantasies, which Stanford wrote late in his life (both date from 1922 and remained unpublished at his death). The Horn Fantasy, which the Vanbrugh also recorded with Hyperion, was first issued in 2005 (with the Quartets Nos 1 and 2); the Clarinet Fantasy No 2 first saw the light of day in 1992 when Hyperion recorded it with Thea King and the Britten Quartet. These are nicely judged interpretations, full of stylistic empathy, élan, poise, delicate textures and carefully contrasted tempos for the matrix of short sections quintessential to Stanford’s mini-cyclic one-movement structures. There is also lovely expressive playing from both Dániel Ember (horn) and Christoph Korn (clarinet), which blends perfectly with Stanford’s delicate string-writing.