Quintet for violin, clarinet, horn, cello & piano in D major, Op. 42
The 20-year gap separating Zdenek Fibich's Quartet for violin, viola, cello, and piano in E minor of 1874 and his Quintet for violin, cello, clarinet, horn, and piano in D major of 1894 seem so large as to be insuperable. In those 20 years, the ardently earnest young man given to melancholy and fits of self-dramatization in the quartet had grown into the confidently assured mature man given to warmth and smiling optimism in the quintet. For listeners who know only Fibich's intimate piano miniatures or from his three large ...
Read More
The 20-year gap separating Zdenek Fibich's Quartet for violin, viola, cello, and piano in E minor of 1874 and his Quintet for violin, cello, clarinet, horn, and piano in D major of 1894 seem so large as to be insuperable. In those 20 years, the ardently earnest young man given to melancholy and fits of self-dramatization in the quartet had grown into the confidently assured mature man given to warmth and smiling optimism in the quintet. For listeners who know only Fibich's intimate piano miniatures or from his three large-scale symphonies or, unlikely but not altogether impossible, his gargantuan Czech-language melodrama Hippodamia, these two chamber works will fill in important holes in the Fibich catalog.Unfortunately, while one can only approve the dedicated performances, one can only disapprove of Supraphon's uncharacteristically vague sound. Three members of the Panocha Quartet plus pianist Marian Laplsanský tear into the quartet with passion and finesse, but Supraphon's 2001 digital recording...
Read Less
