Listeners coming to Strauss' early Piano Quartet in C minor expecting music that sounds anything like the mature Strauss will be deeply disappointed. However, listeners coming to it expecting to hear music that sounds something like the mature Brahms will not. Indeed, they will be gratified to hear many of the same gestures and cadences from Brahms' C minor Piano Quartet echoed in Strauss' C minor Piano Quartet. That's alright: Strauss was still a lad of 20 when he wrote the work, and while he was a lad with incredible ...
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Listeners coming to Strauss' early Piano Quartet in C minor expecting music that sounds anything like the mature Strauss will be deeply disappointed. However, listeners coming to it expecting to hear music that sounds something like the mature Brahms will not. Indeed, they will be gratified to hear many of the same gestures and cadences from Brahms' C minor Piano Quartet echoed in Strauss' C minor Piano Quartet. That's alright: Strauss was still a lad of 20 when he wrote the work, and while he was a lad with incredible musical talent, he was also a lad firmly under the influence of the more conservative German composers of the time. So one can forgive him his youthful enthusiasms, especially since he carried them off with such immense self-confidence.Recordings of Strauss' Piano Quartet have never been thick on the ground, but even in a small field, this 2005 recording by the Mozart Piano Quartet stands out. The players are individually excellent -- listen to violinist Mark Gothoni sing the main tune...
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