Now here's a disc with a difference, this is only the second time i've played this disc, it didn't impress me the first time, but on this listening, wow what a difference!, Elgar's non Orchestral works aren't something i've ventured into, and i've been somewhat put off by his stodgy long drawn out ideas [i'm still trying to come to terms with his Violin Concerto], so it was quite a shock at how really good this music is, the skillful way in which it's constructed, and the great tunes, if i was listening blind, i would swear it was possibly a French Composer, maybe Franck comes to mind, plus as a bonus, the String Quartet was nearly as good as well, i'll be looking forward to hearing this disc again in 2013.
Bernard Roberts is English, he's now 79, he recorded this disc in 1985, one of the great things about this disc is the front cover [photo by Chris Yates], a magnificent landscape shot of trees on a hill, no doubt in winter as the trees are bare, making great silhouettes against the sky, but it's the clouds and light which really makes the picture, there's a certain creamy haze to everything, it's a gorgeous mood shot, and incidentally i went out for a walk to play this disc, and the view on the hill was not unlike this picture, but the music was even more penetrating.
It was the first movement that really grabbed me, when you hear the 'famous' music of Elgar, his Cello Concerto, and Enigma Variations, when you listen to his Piano Quintet you might think 'who is this?', sounds like someone else completely, i suppose in listening to it again, there's certainly a feeling of Brahms's Piano Quartets about it, the work is in the key of A Minor, it twists and turns, it's on the whole dark, but Elgar has some sprightly fun with it, there's fun waltzes that appear out of nowhere, the beginning is hesitant, but soon develops into a Brahmsian seriousness, and i like the way Elgar changes direction, and plays a whimsical melody [2:15-3:17], which then develops into a full blown waltz [3:26-4:37], again all the time sounding like Brahms, then there's a superb section which could have been composed by Faure, in the vein of his Piano Quintets / Quartets [5:25-6:09], sweet and high strings, with rippling piano in the background, now that's a little melody to die for!, the first movement almost sounds like a Fantasy at times, as if it was meant to be something which would stand up all on it's own, Elgar works the themes expertly, the whimsical waltzes come back to haunt us [9:33-11:04], this time there's pizzicato strummings at the beginning, and i marvel at how Elgar can intertwine such simple ideas into something so much more profound, the Faure music comes back [11:48-12:24], this time with the piano sounding like bells, the very opening returns in sadness [13:14-13:46], what a wonderful movement of music, it was so good to 'discover' this today, it's another work i can put in my regular listening list to enjoy.
Here's Elgar's Piano Quintet being played on YouTube.
It was the first movement that really grabbed me, when you hear the 'famous' music of Elgar, his Cello Concerto, and Enigma Variations, when you listen to his Piano Quintet you might think 'who is this?', sounds like someone else completely, i suppose in listening to it again, there's certainly a feeling of Brahms's Piano Quartets about it, the work is in the key of A Minor, it twists and turns, it's on the whole dark, but Elgar has some sprightly fun with it, there's fun waltzes that appear out of nowhere, the beginning is hesitant, but soon develops into a Brahmsian seriousness, and i like the way Elgar changes direction, and plays a whimsical melody [2:15-3:17], which then develops into a full blown waltz [3:26-4:37], again all the time sounding like Brahms, then there's a superb section which could have been composed by Faure, in the vein of his Piano Quintets / Quartets [5:25-6:09], sweet and high strings, with rippling piano in the background, now that's a little melody to die for!, the first movement almost sounds like a Fantasy at times, as if it was meant to be something which would stand up all on it's own, Elgar works the themes expertly, the whimsical waltzes come back to haunt us [9:33-11:04], this time there's pizzicato strummings at the beginning, and i marvel at how Elgar can intertwine such simple ideas into something so much more profound, the Faure music comes back [11:48-12:24], this time with the piano sounding like bells, the very opening returns in sadness [13:14-13:46], what a wonderful movement of music, it was so good to 'discover' this today, it's another work i can put in my regular listening list to enjoy.
Here's Elgar's Piano Quintet being played on YouTube.
