Schumann: String Quartet; Piano Quintet

Daniel Quartet, Würtz, Klára

95014

Although perhaps better known for his Lieder and piano music, both of the works heard on this new recording by the Daniel Quartet are from Robert Schumann’s significant oeuvre of chamber music. Remarkably, it was within a single year (1842), at the start of his career, that Schumann wrote his three String Quartets Op.41 and the Piano Quintet Op.44; both are now considered pillars of the chamber music repertoire. Schumann was well acquainted with examples of the genre by Haydn, Mozart and Mendelssohn, and passionate studies of Beethoven’s quartets preceded his own works. He adapted elements from these older compositions into his new music, and easily transposed his writing for full orchestra to the smaller ensemble. Schumann’s song-like melodies are brought to life in this lively new release, with the exuberant character of the music palpable in the Daniel Quartet’s performance. Schumann himself described the String Quartet in A major as one of the best things he had ever written, and the Piano Quintet in E flat major is similarly considered one of Schumann’s best compositions. The work was dedicated to his beloved wife Clara, and she played in its premiere in 1843.

Works:
• Schumann: Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44
• Schumann: String Quartet No. 3 in A major, Op. 41 No. 3

CD x 1

Brilliant Classics

2019-11-13

5028421950143