Busch Trio, Maria Milstein, Miguel Da Silva – Dvořák: Piano Quintets & Bagatelles (2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Busch Trio, Maria Milstein, Miguel Da Silva – Dvořák: Piano Quintets & Bagatelles (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:20:39 minutes | 1,35 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Alpha Classics

After two earlier Dvořák releases, the Trios nos.3 and 4 (Dumky) and the two Piano Quartets, Omri Epstein, Mathieu van Bellen and Ori Epstein are joined by one of their teachers at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, the violist Miguel da Silva (founder member of the famous Quatuor Ysaÿe) and the violinist Maria Milstein, who was also an artist in residence at the Music Chapel from 2011 to 2014. Together they continue this recording of the Czech composer’s complete chamber music with keyboard, this time in the two Piano Quintets and the Bagatelles. There is an obvious close rapport between these musicians, who share with us their passion for this repertory and their enjoyment of playing together. A gap of fifteen years separates Dvořák’s two Piano Quintets, which have few features in common except a shared home key: the First marks the debut of a youthful composer, while the Second shows him at the peak of his art. The Bagatelles, originally scored for two violins, cello and harmonium, are among his bestknown short pieces. A recording scheduled for release in autumn 2018 will complete this quadriptych of Dvořák’s piano trios, quartets and quintets.

The third volume of this four-part series of trios, quartets and quintets for piano by Dvořák is dedicated to two Piano Quintets and Bagatelles, the Trio Busch welcoming French viola player Miguel da Silva – formerly of the Ysaÿe quartet, between 1984 and 2014 – and also the violinist Maria Milstein, an associate of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium. This ambitious project saw the light of day thanks to the young Busch Trio’s arrival as residents at the Music Chapel in September 2014. The First Piano Quintet in A Major, composed in late summer 1872, might have been lost to posterity, as it seems that Dvořák destroyed the manuscript. But a friend made a copy, which allowed the work to survive the composer’s hasty judgement. The self-assurance with which the composer deals with the combination of piano and strings is clear; in many places, the score prefigures the famous Second Quintet which closes this album. At this early stage in his career, his influences remain clear, in particular the influence of Schubert. When he looked back on his earlier works, as he would do now and then, Dvořák remembered the quintet of his youth and asked his trusty friend for the copy of the work. As was often the case with him, the reflection on an old work led to the composition of a new one in the same form, in such a way that he wound up creating a new quintet in the space of just six weeks in 1887, when he was approaching the pinnacle of his international fame. Between these two stand-out works for quintet, our musicians have chosen the Bagatelles of 1878, initially written for two violins, cello – not a viola – and harmonium, a household keyboard instrument which was very widespread in those days. Composed at the same time as the first volume of the Slavonic Dances, the Bagatelles share the same national accents. Here they are given not on the harmonium but with the piano, as the original score leaves the performers the choice of the two.

Tracklist:

1-1. Busch Trio – Piano Quintet No. 1 In A Major, Op. 5: I. Allegro Ma Non Troppo (08:05)
1-2. Busch Trio – Piano Quintet No. 1 In A Major, Op. 5: II. Andante Sostenuto (09:32)
1-3. Busch Trio – Piano Quintet No. 1 In A Major, Op. 5: III. Finale (Allegro Con Brio) (08:55)
1-4. Busch Trio – Bagatelles, Op. 47: I. Allegro Scherzando (02:47)
1-5. Busch Trio – Bagatelles, Op. 47: II. Tempo Di Minuetto – Grazioso (02:23)
1-6. Busch Trio – Bagatelles, Op. 47: III. Allegretto Scherzando (02:43)
1-7. Busch Trio – Bagatelles, Op. 47: IV. Canon (Andante Con Moto) (02:23)
1-8. Busch Trio – Bagatelles, Op. 47: V. Poco Allegro (04:22)
1-9. Busch Trio – Piano Quintet No. 2 In A Major, Op. 81: I. Allegro Ma Non Tanto (13:44)
1-10. Busch Trio – Piano Quintet No. 2 In A Major, Op. 81: II. Dumka (Andante Con Moto) (13:57)
1-11. Busch Trio – Piano Quintet No. 2 In A Major, Op. 81: III. Scherzo – Furiant (Molto Vivace Poco Tranquillo) (04:13)
1-12. Busch Trio – Piano Quintet No. 2 In A Major, Op. 81: IV. Finale (Allegro) (07:30)

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