Schumann: Piano Quintet/ Piano Quartet
(ASV)
It is an anniversary year for Schumann — 150 years since he died in the asylum at Endenich. This new disc is worth having, though the meticulous playing tends to cost the group freedom and spontaneity. Their metronomic speed at the start of the Quintet is correct but plodding — the spiked minims are blunt — and the observation of the dynamic markings in the Marcia lacks the Romantic passion of the work’s conception. The Quartet’ s Finlandia-style theme is a little light, but the golden lyricism in the cello tune of the Andante cantabile is a late redemption. One hopes it was likewise for the troubled, dying composer.
RICK JONES