Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Chamber Music for Strings and Piano

Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44 (1842) *
Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op. 47 (1842)

Michelangelo Piano Quartet:
Francesca Vicari, violin
Luca Sanzo, viola
Luigi Piovano, cello
Elena Matteucci, piano
Antonio De Secondi, 2nd violin *
Recorded Florence, Italy, August/September 2000
Released June 2003
Chandos/Chaconne 0698 [57:52]

Comparison Period Instrument Recording: Burnett(Fitzwilliam Quartet/Amon Ra
54)

Before addressing Schumann's chamber music and the Chandos performances,
I need to cover the issue of the Chandos claim that these are the premiere
recordings on period instruments.  The fact is that another British
label, Amon Ra, recorded Schumann's Piano Quartet and Piano Quintet on
period instruments in 1991; the American release date was 1995.  Further,
the Amon Ra disc also has a performance of the Violin Sonata Opus 105;
that translates into 75 minutes of music compared to the rather skimpy
under 60 minute length of the Chandos offering.  To take this an additional
step, there is also a period instrument version of the Piano Quartet on
the Winter & Winter label.  However, only the Amon Ra and Chandos
recordings pair the Piano Quartet and the Piano Quintet on period
instruments.

Personally, I find it hard to believe that Chandos would be unaware
of these other recordings since just a short look into the matter would
reveal that the period instrument precedents are already in place.  Being
magnanimous, I'll have to assume that Chandos was just being careless
as opposed to dishonest.  Of course, the issue of premiere recordings
is not germane to the quality of Schumann's chamber works or the quality
of the performances of the Michelangelo Piano Quartet.  So, it's on to
the meat of the review.

Schumann's chamber music doesn't get nearly the attention afforded his
lieder, piano music, and symphonies.  Yet, there are approximately 30
different recordings of the Quintet to choose from in the catalogs; the
Quartet has about 10 entries.  The greater popularity of the Quintet has
to do with its more exuberant and public nature along with more immediately
attractive melodic content.  I'm not going to claim that this chamber
music approaches the inspiration Schumann possesses in his most popular
genres, but it is excellent music worthy of repeated listening.

I might as well address the issue of sound quality at this point.
Chandos offers a rich sound with a strong degree of reverberation, while
Amon Ra's sound is clinical and dry.  I find this a major advantage for
Amon Ra in that the details/lines, particularly of the secondary voices,
are much cleaner than from the Chandos soundstage.  Therefore, if secondary
voices are projecting most of the music's tension, the impact on the
listener is more pronounced from the Amon Ra soundstage; that's just one
example among many.  Of course, some listeners will prefer the more
integrated and sweeter Chandos sound, but I find it inappropriate for
the occasion and rather oppositional as well.

What we have here are chamber works ideal for Schumann's parlor.  What
better way to be transported to that parlor than by the use of period
instruments?  - none that I know of.  Chandos comes down the pike with
'symphonic and slick' sound that blows all thoughts of an evening with
Schumann out of the water.  Why would Chandos do this?  Well, rich sound
has been the rage for many years, and Chandos has been a leader of the
trend.  The company also usually offers some fine detail, but it is
absent in this Schumann disc.

It is quite possible that the Michelangelo Piano Quartet's performances
are as idiomatic as from Burnett and company, but the Chandos sound
doesn't allow for a fair comparison.  Another advantage for the Amon Ra
recording is the inclusion of Schumann's Sonata in A minor for Violin
and Piano which extends the disc to about 75 minutes compared to under
60 minutes for the Chandos.

By the way, the Fitzwilliam String Quartet and Richard Burnett play
splendidly.  They offer plenty of spunk and vitality, give the secondary
voices ample projection, apply incisive accents at the right moments,
and convey Schumann's poetry and angst in healthy measure.  I'm particularly
smitten with the group's performance of the exciting final movement of
the Piano Quintet.  They play it with great exuberance and inject a
little slice of menace to diversify the mix.  Also, the surprising fugal
section is given an excellent display of counterpoint by the ensemble.
One last note is that Burnett plays a Viennese fortepiano by Graf which
would be very similar to the one owned by Clara Schumann, adding another
layer of historical and aesthetic reality to the production.

Don's Conclusions: At best, the Chandos recording is for those who don't
really like period instrument performances.  However, I doubt that the
modern instrument enthusiast would be willing to give up his/her Beaux
Arts versions for ones that offer so little detail and clarity.  Overall,
I consider this Chandos/Schumann release a failure in all respects
including truth in advertising.

The Amon Ra disc is the one to go for if you're looking for idiomatic
period instrument performances of Schumann's chamber music.  The recording
is readily available at various sites on the Internet, and it should
give you many hours of listening pleasure.

Don Satz
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