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Piers Lane; Goldner String Quartet - Edward Elgar: Piano Quintet & String Quartet (2011)

Posted By: Designol

Date: 12 Mar 2023 14:44:55

Inspired by the rural beauty of the surroundings at his country retreat in 1917, Edward Elgar embarked on the composition of some of his most inspired and imaginative chamber works. Both the String Quartet and the Piano Quintet are works of great depth and elegance. Their conservative style disregards the compositional trends of the time and displays an unabashed late-romanticism. Elgar wrote: ‘It is full of golden sounds and I like it. But you must not expect anything violently chromatic or cubist.’ The disc features sumptuous playing from the acclaimed Goldner String Quartet, who are joined by pianist Piers Lane for Elgar’s sublime Piano Quintet, a large-scale work of almost orchestral sonority. These masterpieces are accompanied by four previously unrecorded works for solo piano, the last of which was written by Elgar at the age of 72. They are intimate, charming rarities, superbly performed by Lane.

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.

Review by Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone

Review by Stephen Johnson, BBC Music Magazine

This is one of those rare discs that give pleasure and food for thought in equal measure. Do we still need to be made to think about Elgar’s late chamber music? Indeed we do. Today critics still put down Elgar’s Piano Quintet and String Quartet as ‘conservative’. And yet it’s striking how often these works’ allegedly familiar language eludes performers. Like his idol Schumann, Elgar often builds long melodic paragraphs on a single repeating rhythmic pattern.

Played unsympathetically it sounds – simply – repetitious. But when it’s played with the kind of understanding shown by these five musicians it leaves one wondering how anyone could miss the subtle variety, the elegant sophistication under the surface. In the Piano Quintet’s first movement the leading motif of the ‘Spanish’ second theme seems to acquire a different meaning each time we hear it: sometimes echoing the work’s eerie opening figure, sometimes dodging it deftly. The first movement of the String Quartet – earthbound in some performances – is a beautiful but fragile airborne dance. It’s exquisite, yet at times it seems to drift smilingly towards disintegration.

Putting the Quintet and Quartet beside tiny piano pieces like Mina and Impromptu (played beautifully by Piers Lane) is a reminder of how much the spirit of these improvisatory miniatures haunts the bigger works – and of what a delicate balancing act the musicians have to perform when they play them. (The more robust ‘public’ style of the March in D is also part of the picture – as one can hear in the finale of the Quintet.) It has rarely been done as well as here. Even the Nash Ensemble (also on Hyperion) don’t match the delicate, nervous sensibility the Goldner Quartet bring to the String Quartet’s deceptively ‘peaceful’ slow movement, nor the depth of secret sadness they and Lane find in the Piano Quintet’s ghostly opening. And in these musicians’ expert hands the latter’s central Adagio emerges as one of the gems of Romantic chamber music – and certainly not just English Romantic chamber music.

The whole experience is a valuable reminder that Elgar doesn’t display his originality openly. It’s not a matter of being stylistically forward-looking, or even up-to-date: Elgar’s originality is at a deeper level – in the way the music thinks and feels. As to recordings, I would have like a more intimate view of the piano in the solo pieces, but perspective, tone and balance in the String Quartet and Piano Quintet are excellent – all round, a new top recommendation.

Review by Stephen Johnson, BBC Music Magazine

Review by Mike D. Brownell, Allmusic.com

Much like Schumann, Edward Elgar also had a burst of inspiration that produced an abundance of chamber music. From 1917-1918, Elgar spent his days in a cottage in Sussex, the surrounding nature serving as his muse. Among other works, the time in the English countryside yielded a violin sonata, a string quartet, and a piano quintet, the latter two of which are heard on this Hyperion album. Unlike the concertos or the large-scale orchestral works, these two chamber compositions are infrequently played. They both possess a good deal of introspection and stillness, so much so that the music can sometimes feel stagnant and dull. Solid performances like the ones given by the Goldner String Quartet and pianist Piers Lane certainly help the cause, but these are still not the most stunning pieces in the repertoire. The Goldner Quartet plays with a rich, well-balanced sound that is notable for the power and assertiveness with which the inner voices emerge when necessary. Intonation is generally solid, though issues sometimes present when members are playing in unison or octaves. Its interpretations, along with Lane, are as forward-moving and energetic as the scores allow. The album is rounded out by Lane's performance of four rarities: Elgar piano miniatures. Like the chamber works, these short gems offer insight into the composer's emotional state and personality.

Review by Mike D. Brownell, Allmusic.com

Edward Elgar at Allmusic
Edward Elgar at Wiki

Piers Lane at Allmusic
Piers Lane at Wiki

Goldner String Quartet at Allmusic
Goldner String Quartet at Wiki

Piers Lane (piano)
Goldner String Quartet:
Dene Olding (violin), Dimity Hall (violin),
Irina Morozova (viola), Julian Smiles (cello)

rec. Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk 3-5 July 2010

Tracklist:

Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

String Quartet in E minor, Op.83
01. I. Allegro moderato (8:49)
02. II. Piacevole (poco andante) (9:57)
03. III. Allegro molto (9:12)

04. Mina (3:06)
05. Laura Valse (2:39)
06. March in D major (4:44)
07. Impromptu (0:32)

Piano Quintet in A minor, Op.84
08. I. Moderato - Allegro (14:40)
09. II. Adagio (13:08)
10. III. Andante - Allegro (11:11)

EAC log

Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011

EAC extraction logfile from 23. January 2013, 11:33

Piers Lane; Goldner String Quartet / Elgar - Piano Quintet & String Quartet

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TOC of the extracted CD

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10 | 66:46.46 | 11:11.29 | 300496 | 350849

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AR log

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DR log

foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2018-07-02 02:28:31

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Goldner String Quartet / Elgar - Piano Quintet & String Quartet (1-3)
Piers Lane; Goldner String Quartet / Elgar - Piano Quintet & String Quartet (4-6)
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR15 -4.99 dB -25.54 dB 8:49 01-String Quartet in E minor, Op.83 - I. Allegro moderato
DR14 -6.79 dB -29.09 dB 9:57 02-String Quartet in E minor, Op.83 - II. Piacevole (poco andante)
DR15 -4.84 dB -24.26 dB 9:12 03-String Quartet in E minor, Op.83 - III. Allegro molto
DR14 -1.10 dB -22.19 dB 14:40 08-Piano Quintet in A minor, Op.84 - I. Moderato - Allegro
DR15 -0.05 dB -24.69 dB 13:08 09-Piano Quintet in A minor, Op.84 - II. Adagio
DR15 -0.17 dB -20.61 dB 11:11 10-Piano Quintet in A minor, Op.84 - III. Andante - Allegro
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 6
Official DR value: DR15

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 520 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Piers Lane / Elgar - Piano Quintet & String Quartet
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR13 -16.90 dB -35.40 dB 3:06 04-Mina
DR15 -5.38 dB -28.11 dB 2:39 05-Laura Valse
DR13 -3.00 dB -22.78 dB 4:44 06-March in D major
DR10 -13.82 dB -33.05 dB 0:32 07-Impromptu
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 4
Official DR value: DR13

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 520 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================

All thanks to original releaser

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