The two piano quintets on this album qualify as neglected, even the "repertory" work by Edward Elgar, from his chamber music year of 1918, is not so often heard. As for the Piano Quintet in F sharp minor, Op. 67, of Amy Beach, its comparative rarity is a crying shame. When this album appeared in 2020, the work had not been recorded for 12 years, and it has rarely been performed by groups of the caliber of the Takács Quartet and pianist Garrick Ohlsson, the latter especially sensitive to the music's symphonic dimensions. The ...
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The two piano quintets on this album qualify as neglected, even the "repertory" work by Edward Elgar, from his chamber music year of 1918, is not so often heard. As for the Piano Quintet in F sharp minor, Op. 67, of Amy Beach, its comparative rarity is a crying shame. When this album appeared in 2020, the work had not been recorded for 12 years, and it has rarely been performed by groups of the caliber of the Takács Quartet and pianist Garrick Ohlsson, the latter especially sensitive to the music's symphonic dimensions. The quintet opens and ends with unisons or octaves, seeming to take on a distinct structure of its own in parallel with the large classical forms it embodies. The work is certainly influenced by Brahms and seems to quote some of his music but has an often mysterious mood that is all its own. Nigel Simeone writes that it "is truly imbued with the spirit of Brahms without ever seeming derivative." The Elgar Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84, likewise has a bit of Brahms, and a bit of...
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