Anton Rubinstein Piano Quartets

[jameswesthead]

I have just received an email from Edward Taylor - Copyright and Licensing Manager at Hyperion telling me that they are planning to release a recording of the Anton Rubinstein Piano Quartets next May.

[izdawiz]

Yay!!! woot WoOt!!  I'll receive it !

[Alan Howe]

Yes, a lovely prospect.

[Gareth Vaughan]

I agree wholeheartedly.

[Mark Thomas]

Good oh! That'll fill a real gap in the recorded repertoire. Although I think he is a flawed composer, Rubinstein is, perhaps unsurprisingly, at his best for me when the piano is involved in the ensemble - be it concerto, chamber music or as a solo instrument.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Spot on, Mark. His symphonies, by and large, disappoint. His works with piano and other instruments always seem much stronger.

[eschiss1]

Though I like what I've heard of his mature string chamber works a lot too and hope they'll get their day one-of-these...

[Alan Howe]

Here are some audio samples:
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA68018&vw=dc
I'll be buying this, I think. Sounds lovely.

[Mark Thomas]

The first Piano Quartet sounded awfully familiar, until I realised that it's an arrangement of the Quintet for Piano & Winds Op.55 - one of Rubinstein's best works IMHO. I see that the Piano Quartet in F is Op.55bis. The extracts sound enticing, I must say.

[Mark Thomas]

The audio examples have disappeared. The link doesn't work any more, unfortunately, and a search of the Hyperioin website draws a blank..

[Alan Howe]

The audio samples are back up again:
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA68018&vw=dc

[Mark Thomas]

I've been meaning to post this for a couple of weeks: the two works on this disc are an absolute delight; Rubinstein at his best IMHO. For my money Op.55 in its Piano Quartet guise is even an improvement on the more familiar well-loved Quintet version for piano and winds, with the richer sound suiting the material very well. The Op.66 Quartet in C major, new to me, is another absolute winner, and both works are comparable in quality to Raff's rather later pair of piano quartets, for example, which is high praise indeed, in my book. It's been a very long time since I have enjoyed a new Rubinstein recording so much.