Brahms
Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor; Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major
Krystian Zimerman (piano), Maria Nowak (violin), Katarzyna Budnik (viola), Yuya Okamoto (cello)
Deutsche Grammophon 486 4650 77:10 mins
Clip: Brahms – Piano Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 26: IV. Finale. Allegro
Brahms’s second and third piano quartets tend to be overshadowed by the first, not least in Schoenberg’s snazzy orchestral arrangement, but in their way, these two works offer a much broader picture of the composer. Written in happy circumstances, the A major quartet is one of Brahms’s most open-hearted and immediately engaging chamber works.
Zimerman and his colleagues deliver a superb performance capturing the outgoing qualities of the first movement, enjoying its expansiveness without losing sight of its tight underlying musical argument. They balance radiant lyricism and turbulent emotion in the slow movement with aplomb and bring just the right amount of whimsical humour to the scherzo, while the finale is full of verve without being too hectoring.
Beginning life amid the storm and stress of Brahms’s early infatuation with Clara Schumann, the C minor quartet is the polar opposite of the earlier A major quartet. The opening unison provides a brusque introduction to an argument which expands with relentless logic before melting into one of Brahms’s loveliest second melodies. Zimerman and his team respond well to the tragic-heroic aspects of the movement, but don’t quite offer enough balm in its gentler moments. There is a great deal to enjoy in the later movements, though, in particular Yuya Okamoto’s cello playing at the start of the slow movement, and also the way in which the ensemble communicates the barely supressed desperation in the fiercely concentrated scherzo. These performances, recorded in a pleasantly resonant acoustic, are highly recommendable. Jan Smaczny
