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Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34 (1864) Nikolay Lugansky, piano Vadim Repin, violin Nikita Boriso-Glebsky, violin Andrey Gridchuk, viola Pablo Ferrández, cello 2018, Moscow Philharmonic Society I. [0:00] Expos. - Theme 1 (Allegro non troppo) [1:20] Expos. - Theme 2 [2:51] Expos. - Closing Theme [3:40] Expos. - Repeat [7:12] Dev. [9:40] Recap. - Theme 1 [10:46] Recap. - Theme 2/Closing Theme [13:07] Coda (Poco Sostenuto - Tempo I) II. [14:56] A (Andante, un poco adagio) [17:03] B [19:00] A III. [22:57] Scherzo (Allegro) [26:00] Trio [27:12] Scherzo Reprise IV. [30:36] Finale - Intro. (Poco sostenuto) [32:25] A (Allegro non troppo) [33:36] B (un pochettino più animato) [34:46] A’ (Tempo I) [36:49] B’ (un pochettino più animato) [38:00] Coda (Tempo I, tranquillo - Presto, non troppo) “… The combination of string quartet and piano makes the piano quintet a singularly powerful ensemble as it joins two self-sufficient forces in a grand partnership. Occurring far less frequently in the repertoire than string or piano quartets, the great works for this medium are equally singular and powerful coming from the likes of Schumann, Franck, Brahms, Dvořák, Fauré and Shostakovich as the most noteworthy examples. While Brahms's lone Piano Quintet in f minor, Op. 34 is on the short list of masterworks, it assumed its final form only after a great deal of tinkering. It began life in 1861 as a string quintet with two cellos. Brahms eventually destroyed this version and rescored it as a sonata for two pianos. With the feedback from several performances and the advice of his friends Clara Schumann and Joseph Joachim, Brahms finally settled on the present version for piano quintet that he published in 1865. Joachim would declare that it was the finest new chamber music work published since Schubert. A dark, mighty work of tremendous scope, it is generally considered to be Brahms's great chamber music epic completed when he was only thirty-one….” - Kai Christiansen
