Robert Schumann - Piano Quintet; String Quartet No. 3 (Marc-André Hamelin; Takács Quartet)

Information

Composer: Robert Schumann

1. String Quartet in A major, Op. 41 No. 3: I. Andante espressivo - Allegro molto moderato
2. String Quartet in A major, Op. 41 No. 3: II. Assai agitato - Un poco adagio - Tempo risoluto
3. String Quartet in A major, Op. 41 No. 3: III. Adagio molto
4. String Quartet in A major, Op. 41 No. 3: IV. Allegro molto vivace
5. Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44: I. Allegro brillante
6. Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44: II. In modo d'una marcia: Un poco largamente - Agitato
7. Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44: III. Scherzo: Molto vivace
8. Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44: IV. Allegro, ma non troppo

Marc-André Hamelin, piano
Takács Quartet
Edward Dusinberre, violin
Károly Schranz, violin
Geraldine Walther, viola
András Fejér, cello

Date: 2009
Label: Hyperion
https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67631

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Review

Outstanding musicianship and virtuosity abound on this stunning disc

If I could play the piano like Marc-André Hamelin, I’d want to blare out my virtuosity at every opportunity. That Hamelin himself does the precise opposite is yet again testament to his profound and considered musicianship. He and the Takács Quartet have been touring with Schumann’s Piano Quintet and this shows in the deep rapport they demonstrate in this recording of the work. Not that Hamelin isn’t centre stage, with the Quartet deployed widely across the stereo spectrum; but the sense is of true chamber interplay between five equals. Hamelin scampers and thunders by turns but not once does he upstage the string-players. The direct comparison is with Leif Ove Andsnes and the Artemis Quartet, winners of the Gramophone Chamber Award last year, and the new recording runs them close. Hamelin and the Takács take a more rhapsodic approach to tempi and rubato but, like their rivals, keep clear sight of the work’s large-scale structure. While no one will prise Andsnes from my sweaty palms in a hurry, Hamelin and the Takács will remain within easy reach for some time, I’m sure.

The Takács also come up against an Award-winner (Disc of the Year no less, in 2003) with their performance of the A major Quartet, and once again acquit themselves admirably. The Hyperion recorded sound is the more spacious – ECM might well have stuck microphones up the noses of the Zehetmairs, so visceral is their sound world – and once again the Takács revel in the classical logic of Schumann’s vision, in contrast to the German group’s mercurial response to the composer’s blazing inspiration. That this disc simply gets better and better on repeated listening is ample recommendation.

-- David Threasher, Gramophone

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: *** / SOUND: ****
MusicWeb International  RECORDING OF THE MONTH
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2010/Feb10/Schumann_Takacs_cda67631.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/oct/30/schumann-string-quartet-op-41-no-3
http://classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=7789
https://www.allmusic.com/album/schumann-string-quartet-op-41-3-piano-quintet-op-44-mw0001413071
https://www.amazon.com/Schumann-String-Quartet-Op-41-Quintet/dp/B002O2MC26

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Robert Schumann (8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856) was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era, and left an array of acclaimed music in virtually all the forms then known. Schumann's published compositions were written exclusively for the piano until 1840; he later composed works for piano and orchestra; many Lieder (songs for voice and piano); four symphonies; an opera; and other orchestral, choral, and chamber works. Schumann suffered from a lifelong mental disorder, and died in 1856 without having recovered from his illness.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Schumann

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Marc-André Hamelin (born September 5, 1961 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer. Hamelin is recognized worldwide for the originality and technical brilliance of his performances of the classic repertoire. He has made recordings of a wide variety of composers with the Hyperion label. He is well known for his attention to lesser-known composers especially of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and for performing works by pianist-composers. Hamelin has also composed several works, including a set of piano études in all of the minor keys.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc-Andr%C3%A9_Hamelin

http://www.marcandrehamelin.com/

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Takács Quartet is a string quartet, founded in Hungary, and now based in Boulder, Colorado, United States. In 1975, four students at the Music Academy in Budapest, Gábor Takács-Nagy (first violin), Károly Schranz (second violin), Gábor Ormai (viola), and András Fejér (cello) formed The Takács Quartet. Current members include: Edward Dusinberre & Károly Schranz (violins), Geraldine Walther (viola), and András Fejér (cello). The quartet has recorded extensively for Decca and Hyperion, and has received several nominations and awards such as a Grammy Award and a Gramophone Award.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tak%C3%A1cs_Quartet

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