These 1970s recordings make their first appearance on CD in this compilation and are masterfully performed by the Beaux Arts Trio and Walter Trampler. Dvorak’s two piano quartets have lain in the shade of his glorious Op. 81 Piano Quintet but where this composer’s chamber music is concerned, beautiful surprises await the listener who steps off the beaten path. The music is rich and colourful and the performers capture the full range of sonority these works offer.
ANTONIN DVOŘÁK
Piano Quartet No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 87
Piano Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 23
Beaux Arts Trio
Menahem Pressler, piano
Isidore Cohen, violin
Bernard Greenhouse, cello
with Walter Trampler, viola
Recordings: May 1972
‘The Beaux Arts Trio plus Walter Trampler deliver a fine performance, with their typically excellent ensemble balance and a particularly flowing and cogent account of the magnificent central variation movement [of the First Piano Quartet]’ ClassicsToday.com
‘The playing of the Beaux Arts Trio is as fresh and spontaneous as the music itself, and the early 1970s recording still sounds remarkably well – warm and beautifully balanced’ *** Penguin Guide