[papy]

Hello all,

I thought I'd start again a new general thread on a section of the classical Music.

Like I did a few months back with Requiems, stabat maters and co, I'd like this time round to get your input on chamber music, quintets, quartets, trios, etc, of any sort, any periods...What are the central pieces to start with (and beyond, the hidden gems) of that genre ?

I know there is several threads discussing specific pieces, and the views on pros and cons of the recordings. Any recommendations on recordings for your suggested pieces is of course welcome, but please bear in mind that, for beginners like me, it is more a question of discovery and familiarising yourself with a piece. The analytical work on recordings is not the key point at this
stage.

now come on, Ladies and Gents, throw the titles in.
Thanks.

Papy

 

[saint.panda]

My absolute favourite ones:

- Schubert String Quintet in C (I think no CD collection should be without a recording of this performance...)
- Beethoven String Quartets (same for this collection although complete sets are usually pretty expensive)
- Brahms Clarinet Quintets
- Bach Art of the Fugue

I also really enjoy the Shostakovich String Quartets and Schubert's Piano Trios and many other recordings but I would take the four recordings mentioned above with me on a desert island. Not sure if Bach Cello Sonatas and Bach Goldberg Variations also count but these two would definitely make the cut as well along with Beethoven's violin sonatas.

 

[Bunnyears]

Goodness, another chambermusic thread!

Well, here are some of my favorite works (I'm too tired to think about specific recordings)

Haydn Piano sonatas
Beethoven sonatas, quartets, trios, et al.
Almost everything by Bach was composed for the smaller "chamber" orchestra, so let's include the Brandenburg Concertos, the French Suites, the English Suites, the suites for unaccompanied Cello, the well tempered klavier, the Goldberg Variations, the Suites transcribed for lute, Sonatas for violin and continuo, cello and continuo, et al. With the exception of works for organ or Cantatas (made for performance in Churches/Chapel or other larger spaces)
almost all Bach qualifies.
Mozart's divertimenti and trios (especially K563), serenades (Eine Kleine Nachtsmusik, anyone?), sinfoniettas, concertos, symphonies, etc. All composed for performance in Palace Rooms which due to the demands for heat and light were much smaller in scale than we imagine today.
Dvorak string quartets
Shostakovich string quartets and sonatas for piano and violin,
Schubert string quartets, lieder, piano trios, quintets, octets, etc
Mendelssohn quartets, etc.,etc, etc.
Eccles, Boccherini, Couperin, all composed chamberworks.

My goodness, there is so much chamber music around it boggles the imagination! And we haven't even tackled the Renaissance or the Medieval periods! How could I forget Tye, Tallis and Lassus.

And lest I forget, there are George Crumb's Makrokosmos as well.

I'll just have to think some more because right now I am overwhelmed with choices. The one thing I do know is that Mahler did not compose for the Chamber. He was a Big Band kind of guy.

 

[calaf]

I jumped into chamber music from the deep end (Bartok quartets

). In retrospect I think Haydn quartets are a great place to start from. They are classical in the best sense of the word: formally perfect, structurally rich, and still very very pleasant to listen to!
BTW there was a similar thread recently in the gramophone forum
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/mainforu...50&type=chrono

 

[Kevin Sinnott]

I enjoy the ones already mentioned. Don't forget: Debussy and Ravel's quartets. Both very beautiful. I'd get the Orlando on Philips if you're looking for analog, or the Keller on Teldec for digital.

Franck's cello sonata, which to my ears, has some neat jazz chords in it. I've got an SACD (forget the artists names) on Channel Classics that sounds perfect.

 

[gratefulshrink]

Let's see, I agree with all the recommendations of Bach solo piano and solo cello, Betthoven string quartets (especially the late ones), Shostokovich string quartets, Bartok string quartets.

For solo piano, if not already mentioned, Chopin Nocturnes, Liszt (various stuff), Scriabin sonatas, Beethoven late sonatas.

Bach solo violin.

For string quartets, if not already mentioned, Schubert's "Death and the Maiden", Ligeti's 1st, Carter's cycle, Schoenberg's cycle.

That's what I've got for now

 

[papy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunnyears My goodness, there is so much chamber music around it boggles the imagination!

You see how that feels when there are so many composers, pieces, versions, and that you only start to tackle classical music as a whole !!! Where do you go !?!?!?!?! :d

but hey, keep'em coming !!
Thanks all !
Papy

 

[Yikes]

I just received a new SACD of the Fry Street Quartet. It was recorded by Ray Kimber using his IsoMike technique. I received a sample disc that had some cuts off of this disc and they sounded wonderful.

The disc has on it:

Ludwig Beethoven String Quartet in A Major op. 18 no.5 (1800)
Ludwig Beethoven String Quartet in A Minor op. 132 (1825)

Igor Stravinsky Three Pieces for String Quartet (1914)

Ned Rorem String Quartet no. 4 (1994)

J. Mark Scearce String Quartet 1 (Y2K)

I’m not the biggest quartet fan, but the samples sounded so good that I ordered the disc immediately. I’ll post my impressions after I take it home for a test listen.

 

[atomic]

Borodin wrote some luscious and beautiful quartets, No. 1 and 2 are my favorites and are often paired on CDs.

Dvorak's 'American' quartet (op. 96) is very famous, and he also wrote a quintet around the same time (op. 97) that is one of my favorites.

I think my favorite quartet of all time is Smetana's "From My Life," (No. 1), I obviously prefer romantic music but this is just a classic. Each movement has a totally different feeling to it but they come together so well!

Beethoven wrote some great piano trios as well.

 

[Yikes]

My favorite String Quartet is Frantz Schubert's String Quartet No 14 "Death and the Maiden" D.810

 

[mbhaub]

Ditto (most of) the above. But whatever you do, don't miss the glorious piano quintets of Franz Schmidt. The g-minor is one of the most beautiful things written in the last 100 years.
The string quartets, piano quintets of Dvorak are very entertaining. Also, the Spohr Octet and Nonet are well worth getting.
There's so much great chamber music -- too much, really. ANother that simply must be heard is the Brahms g-minor piano quartet op. 25 in the Schoenberg orchestration! Stunning. The recent Rattle version is superb, as is Jarvis.
Lastly, the chamber music of Karl Goldmark is extremely beautiful, and very sadly neglected.

 

[Wilson]

.Brahms Quartets
.Beethoven Quartets
.Schubert Quintet and Quartets
.Janacek Sonata for Violin and Piano
.Beethoven Violin Sonatas
.Brahms Violin Sonatas
.Schubert Sonata for arpeggione and piano
.Brahms Cello Sonatas

 

[Masolino]

Can't believe no one has mentioned quintets for piano and
wind instruments written by Mozart and Beethoven
(K. 452 & Op. 16 respectively, both in Eb major).
Horn, clarinet, oboe, bassoon and pianoforte--
esp. with period instruments, the iriscident blending
of various instrumental timbres and colors is nothing
short of magical.

Robert Levin, fortepiano
Academy of Ancient Music Chamber Ensemble

 

[Tyson]

Bartok Quartets performed by the Emerson String Quartet is probably my favorite chamber music ever.

 

[JohnFerrier]

Because of the intimacy of recordings in smaller rooms, I've started to explore chamber music. After listening to a few recordings from Tokyo, Vienna, and Berlin, I'm finding the venue I like most is the American Academy of Arts & Letters in NYC. I mentioned this before, but the acoustics seem very solid and more real than other locales. TowerRecords.com allows one to search by venue (although this information is not displayed with the CD selection). Here is the listing for the American Academy of Arts & Letters. The Emerson String Quartet is a familiar name that records there. The CDs I currently have are of the music of Joan Tower, John Corigliano, George Crumb, Anton Webern, Dvorak, and Borodin (guess I have more than I thought). Anyway, I don't know if it's just me, or what, but I really like the sound. I've also tried the Reference Recordings, Mapleshade recordings, ValveHearts tube recordings, and others. For some reason, it seems to me to come down to the acoustics of the hall. I'm now interested to try some Schubert, Mozart, Brahms, Mendelssohn, etc. from the same venue.

-

Anyone see a selection in the TowerRecords list that they wish to comment on?