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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. Capriccio - Prelude Op. 85 (for string sextet) |
| 2. String Quintet in F Major: Gemassigt |
| 3. String Quintet in F Major: Scherzo: Schnell - Trio: Langsamer |
| 4. String Quintet in F Major: Adagio |
| 5. String Quintet in F Major: Finale: Libhaft bewegt |
| 6. Intermezzo In D Minor (for string quintet) |
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A sublime coupling,
By
This review is from: Bruckner: String Quintet, Intermezzo / Strauss: Prelude to 'Capriccio' (Audio CD)
Finished in 1879, the Quintet is thus a mature work by a composer who had already written - and in the case of the Fourth and Fifth, revised - five symphonies. There is a always a richness of sonority and harmony in this music which has given rise to the cliché that Bruckner's idiom is too dense and orchestral, an accusation hardly borne out by the delicacy of some passages. The first subject is a melancholy, bittersweet melody which cascades down the scale before yielding to a more restless figure and is passed from instrument to instrument. The Scherzo is an odd hobgoblin dance played with great flexibility and charm here by the Raphael Ensemble. It was initially scorned by Joseph Hellmesberger, the begetter of the quintet, as too difficult and abstruse, so Buckner accommodated him by writing an Intermezzo - here appended as a bonus - as a simpler, shorter alternative but retaining the same Trio that we hear in the Scherzo. However, the original Scherzo was soon re-admitted and in 1885 even Hellmesberger's ensemble was playing it in preference to the Intermezzo. Listening to the sublime serenity of the Adagio, it is hard to believe that Bruckner was unfamiliar with the slow movements of Beethoven's late quartets; this is the most massive and, yes, symphonic of the movements, and the Raphael Ensemble play it superbly with an unhurried weight and assurance, sometimes suspending the melodic line on a thread of tone. The Finale is the most controversial of the movements in that it can evince elements of over-reaching and fussy complexity which threaten to fragment. Bruckner's admiration of Bach is most in evidence here in the fugato elements of the second subject; the quiet control and sustained pulse of the Raphael Ensemble keep it together, rendering the movement unified and credible to end in a glorious coda as the upper strings declaim over the grumbling scramble of the cellos.
I have to admit that as much as I value, esteem and enjoy the Quintet, I derive greatest pleasure from the vulgar indulgence and soaring ecstasy of the Prelude from Strauss's "Capriccio" - but I am an incurable Strauss junkie. Originally issued on Hyperion in 1994, this is now a bargain issue on their Helios label and worth every penny.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews) 16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sensuous musicality,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Bruckner: String Quintet, Intermezzo / Strauss: Prelude to 'Capriccio' (Audio CD)
The Strauss sextet from "Capriccio" is a rare example of sensuous intimacy by a composer better known for his larger scale works. The Raphael Ensemble are entirely at home with this beautifully and sensitively spun narrative and the sound is delicious throughout. The Bruckner Quintet is an even rarer example of chamber music writing from this composer and has a style which is unusual and eccentric, but totally captivating. The slow movement in particular is astonishingly beautiful in this performance and features themes so arresting and touching that they are equal to any produced by better known exponents of the genre.This recording by The Raphael Ensemble does full justice to both works and is an essential item for the serious listener. 10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good old Bruckner on a smaller scale,
By Jeffrey Lee - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Bruckner: String Quintet, Intermezzo / Strauss: Prelude to 'Capriccio' (Audio CD)
This lovely piece by Bruckner contains many of the very same features one typically finds in his symphonies, so that what one hears in this chamber context sounds rather familiar. But in addition, I sense a more endearing quality, a more innocent simplicity, which I find quite charming and which is reflected especially in the scherzo. This is followed by a wonderfully tender fourteen minute long adagio, which the Raphael Ensemble plays with considerable sympathetic expressiveness. In doing so it also projects a genuine spiritual quality. Again, as I have stated before about this group, it possesses a marvelous ability to stay in the most intimate touch with the music it brings to life. The close of this adagio is very moving. At the start of the final movement a winsome presence re-asserts itself, but soon one begins to hear the kind of gradual buildup to the end that is so typical of the symphonies. And, yes, the expected grand conclusion is there too, but of course within the context of a much smaller framework. So there you have it ! More Bruckner to love aside from his symphonies. And, in a highly commendable, most satisfying presentation.
Bruckner's brief ( just under 4 minutes ) Intermezzo in D minor also included here is a pleasant, warm sounding piece that is given the same caring treatment as the quintet. The Capriccio-Prelude by Richard Strauss is somewhat reminiscent of his Domestic Symphony. It has a bit of what one would call in German an anheimeind (homey) quality. It is an amiable piece, also very musically played. However, I am more compellingly drawn to the works by Bruckner, which surely contain some sublime moments. And so do the performances of the the Raphael Ensemble. 6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best christmas Present,
By Student - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Bruckner: String Quintet, Intermezzo / Strauss: Prelude to 'Capriccio' (Audio CD)
I loved this cd! Its one of those ones that can make you re-evaluate your opinion of a composer. Especially Strauss, The Quintet convey imense energy and make a beautifully pure sound. The content also seems well balanced.
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