Brahms - String Quintet 2 [Hagen String Quartet]This is the first time a String Quintet appears in my Blog, it's not a combination i naturally warm to, unlike others i don't think that highly of the Schubert, but the Brahms Quintets have a certain something, there's a warm glow about them, the extra viola switching the centre of gravity away from the violins, and more onto the violas, this is a disc i haven't had very long, and therefore i haven't had time to listen to extensively, the disc i really discovered these works on is by the Juilliard Quartet on Sony, i thought i'd branch out and get a second recording, get a second opinion on these works, so it was good to listen to this disc today, and develop an ear for an alternative view.
The Hagen String Quartet are from Austria [and for some crazy reason i always thought they were Hungarian], formed in 1981 by four siblings, the second violin has been replaced by a non family member, they recorded this work in 1996, the front booklet cover is an etching by Heinrich Vogeler entitled 'Um Mittag' [at midday], it's hard to understand how it applies to the music.
I wasn't totally bowled over by this listen, but i was impressed enough to enjoy it very much, and it was the first and third movements which were especially good, and i found the big first movement to be the better of the two, it's certainly twice as long as any of the other two movements put together, it's also cast in G Major,
Here's The first movement of the Second String Quintet being played on YouTube.
