Russische Klavierquintette (1998)

Much of the popularity of Dmitry Shostakovich's Piano Quintet, Op. 57, stems from the widely varying range of emotion and expression in it. Pianist Thomas Leander and the Minguet Quartett are sensitive to that range and do an excellent job with it. Leander matches the Quartett quite well in bringing out the intensity of the music, particularly in the first and third movements and the climax of the Fugue. In the fourth movement, where the piano is something of a foil to the lyrical strings, Leander and the Quartett make the ... Read More

Much of the popularity of Dmitry Shostakovich's Piano Quintet, Op. 57, stems from the widely varying range of emotion and expression in it. Pianist Thomas Leander and the Minguet Quartett are sensitive to that range and do an excellent job with it. Leander matches the Quartett quite well in bringing out the intensity of the music, particularly in the first and third movements and the climax of the Fugue. In the fourth movement, where the piano is something of a foil to the lyrical strings, Leander and the Quartett make the parts fit together neatly and calmly, not quite reaching the intensity of the other movements at the highpoint of its arch-like shape, but letting it grow naturally. It leads right into the sunny opening of the finale, where all of them again give the movement a clear overall shape. The recording does balance the piano well with the quartet, but unfortunately, its thin, rather flat sound means that the performance lacks an immediacy that is essential to Shostakovich's music. It also... Read Less