Edward Elgar - Piano Quintet; String Quartet (Piers Lane; Goldner String Quartet)

Information

Composer: Edward Elgar

1. String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83: I. Allegro moderato
2. String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83: II. Piacevole (poco andante)
3. String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83: III. Allegro molto
4. Mina
5. Laura Valse
6. March in D major
7. Impromptu
8. Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84: I. Moderato - Allegro
9. Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84: II. Adagio
10. Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84: III. Andante - Allegro

Piers Lane, piano (4-10)
Goldner String Quartet (1-3, 8-10)
Dene Olding, violin
Dimity Hall, violin
Irina Morozova, viola
Julian Smiles, cello

Date: 2011
Label: Hyperion
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67857

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Review

No beating about the bush: the Goldners give the most sublimely articulate and raptly communicative reading of Elgar’s elusive String Quartet that it’s been my privilege to encounter. It’s not just their fabulous technical address and scrupulous adherence to the text that are so impressive (all achieved, I should add, without a whiff of self-conscious display), but the recreative ardour, tumbling fantasy and sinewy strength they bring to this marvellous score make it seem as though the ink is barely dry on the manuscript, as well as making you appreciate afresh the supreme mastery of the composer’s part-writing. Certainly, it’s hard to conceive the fragrant Piacevole centrepiece enjoying more pliable or wistfully poetic treatment than here. 

The performance of the epic Piano Quintet evinces a comparable generosity of spirit, very real sense of teamwork and flawless discipline. Piers Lane’s own earlier account with the youthful Vellinger Quartet (CfP, 9/95R) remains a notable achievement but this thrillingly dedicated new version conveys even more of the music’s far-flung ambition, subtle motivic interplay, arresting drama and spooky undertow (Elgar’s imagination had been sparked by a colourful local myth that a clump of dead trees near his West Sussex cottage were the twisted forms of Spanish monks struck by lightning while engaging in pagan rites). 

Sandwiched between the two main offerings come four piano miniatures, the haunting, dream-like waltz Mina from 1932‑33 (named after Elgar’s pet Cairn Terrier) being the pick of the bunch.

Ben Connellan’s Potton Hall sound and balance are beyond reproach; Diana McVeagh contributes a scholarly and highly illuminating booklet essay. This is, quite simply, a superlative CD. 

-- Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone

More reviews:

BBC Music Magazine PERFORMANCE: ***** / SOUND: ****

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/Aug11/Elgar_Quartet_CDA67857.htm
http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=9351
http://www.allmusic.com/album/elgar-piano-quintet-string-quartet-mw0002167735
http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/Review/266566,elgar-piano-quintet-string-quartet-piano-works-goldner-quartet-piers-lane.aspx
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/16/elgar-piano-quintet-review

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Edward Elgar (2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos for violin and cello, and two symphonies. He also composed choral works, including The Dream of Gerontius, chamber music and songs. Elgar has been described as the first composer to take the gramophone seriously. Between 1914 and 1925, he conducted a series of acoustic recordings of his works.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Elgar

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Piers Lane (born 8 January 1958) is an Australian classical pianist. He graduated with a Medal of Excellence from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, where his teacher was Nancy Weir. His performance career has taken him to more than 40 countries. His concerto repertoire exceeds 75 works. Lane has an extensive discography on the Hyperion label and has also recorded for EMI, Decca, BMG, Lyrita and Unicorn-Kanchana. Lane is a well-known voice on BBC Radio 3, having written and presented more than 100 programs, including a 54-part series called The Piano.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piers_Lane

http://www.pierslane.com/

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Goldner String Quartet is an Australian string quartet formed in 1995 in honour of Richard Goldner, the founder of Musica Viva Australia. The Quartet consists of Dene Olding and Dimity Hall (violins), Irina Morozova (viola; an ex-pupil of Goldner) and Julian Smiles (cello). Olding and Morozova are married, as are Hall and Smiles. The Goldners have played throughout Australia and New Zealand, as well in the UK, USA, Korea, Finland, France and Italy. In 1997 the Goldner String Quartet made its debut at the Wigmore Hall in London, and have since appeared there regularly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldner_String_Quartet

http://goldnerquartet.com/

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