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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Mendelssohn & Schubert: Octets
Recording locations: Victoria Hall, Geneva, Switzerland, May 1950 (Schubert: Piano Quintet); Grosser Saal, Musikverein, Vienna, Austria, April 1954 (Schubert: Octet); Vienna, Austria, June 1953 (Mendelssohn) This recording forms part of a series of 10 reissues celebrating the glorious Decca recordings from the 1950s-1970s of the Wiener Oktett (Vienna Octet), made up of key principals from the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. This collection brings together three of the most enduring chamber music masterpieces ever written. Mendelssohn’s Octet remains an absolute teenage marvel, never mind what Mozart wrote at a similar or younger age, or what child prodigies have accomplished since. Schubert’s “Trout” is one of his most joyous works and his Octet was one of the Wiener Oktett’s signature pieces, admired not only by a legion of concertgoers, record collectors and critics, but also the aged Richard Strauss who heard the ensemble perform this work. What makes this set even more attractive is that the recordings of each of these pieces are rare and much sought-after. The Mendelssohn was the first of the ensemble’s two recordings (1953, 1972). The Schubert “Trout” Quintet was more famously recorded in 1957 with Clifford Curzon, but this 1950 recording, with the Oktett’s regular pianist, Walter Panhofer, is perhaps even more sublime. The Octet’s recording dates from 1954. It was recorded again in 1958, but for many, this first reading, which has never appeared on CD before, is perhaps even more spontaneous. Distinguished commentator Tully Potter’s notes on the music and the performers are witty and engaging, adding yet another dimension to the reissue of these recordings, much loved as they have (until now) been much missed. “Analogue mono sound in the 60-year-old recording of The Trout becomes acceptable as the magic of the performance takes over.” BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2010 **** “The golden age of Viennese music-making flares gloriously into life again...The result is exquisite. Perfection of tone and phrasing … polish and subtlety and rare beauty of tone...The performance cannot be too highly recommended” Gramophone Magazine | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Beethoven: Sextet, Septet & Piano Quintet
Recording location: Sofiensaal, Vienna, Austria, March 1958 (Schubert: Octet), March 1959 (Beethoven: Septet), October 1969 (Beethoven: Sextet, Quintet) This recording forms part of a series of 10 reissues celebrating the glorious Decca recordings from the 1950s-1970s of the Wiener Oktett (Vienna Octet), made up of key principals from the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Five titles were released in September and the remaining five are released this month. This volume in the Wiener Oktett Decca Legacy includes two staple works in the ensemble’s repertoire: the Beethoven Septet (in its 1959 recording and the Schubert Octet (in its 1957 recording). Beethoven was rather miffed when he heard that, of all his works, his divertimento-like Septet was wildly successful in England. This anthology also includes two chamber music rarities by Beethoven – his Op. 29 String Quintet and the Sextet, Op. 81b, which, for its inclusion of the difficult parts for two horns (superbly negotiated by Wolfgang Tomböck and Volker Altmann) has made this recording a collector’s item much sought after by horn players. Both, the Quintet and the Sextet make their first international appearance on CD. “A real treat of a release...these are joyous performances which show with unforced style why chamber music is the prince of musical genres.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 ***** “their playing is richly eloquent” [Beethoven String Quintet] … impeccably played, unfailingly pleasing [Beethoven Sextet] … the recordings which are firm and detailed, well-focused and lifelike” Gramophone Magazine (Beethoven) “highly civilised and agreeable … highly recommendable to listeners prepared to enjoy a view of the work which is leisurely both as to style – without any exaggeration of the quality - and as to finding time and space for a generous allowance of repeat-making” Gramophone Magazine (Schubert) “The performance has elegance but also conveys a sparkle and a sense of enjoyment that are thoroughly exhilarating” Penguin Guide *** (Schubert) | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Members of the Melos Ensemble | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Schubert: Octet in F major, D803
“A spacious performance, enthralling and poetic: it leaves behind the world of happy Viennese music-making. Instead, we have a view of the Octet as one of Schubert's major achievments, sharing much common ground with the other great chamber works of 1824, the A minor and D minor string quartets.
The Adagio is taken unusually slowly, but without any feeling of the rhythm sagging – the effect is unexpectedly profound and meditative.
The following Scherzo is unhurried, too, yet is still full of spirit; it's beautifully poised, with each phrase convincingly shaped. There's only one movement, the Minuet, where the measured approach is maybe overdone; it's marked Allegretto, after all, and here the effect is distinctly languid. However, the romantic feeling of the first movement's introductory Adagio is perfectly captured, and the corresponding slow introduction to the finale, whose melodrama can sometimes sound like a tongue-in cheek shock tactic, emerges here as one extreme of a multifaceted yet perfectly unified work.
And the thoughtful shaping of phrases isn't confined to the Scherzo; it's present throughout, keeping us constantly aware of the music's expressive power. Even when these inflections seem slightly contentious – in the finale's main theme, for example – they contribute to a constant feeling of lively communication.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 “A spacious performance, enthralling and poetic… The Adagio is taken unusually slowly, but without any feeling of the rhythm sagging - the effect is unexpectedly profound and meditative.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2006 “These artists find a greater depth than their predecessors in a work that we all think we know well. There is not only grace, pathos and tenderness here, but also a thoughtful attention to details of phrasing and internal balance...musically a most satisfying and revealing account - and a moving one too” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Schubert: Octet in F major, D803
| | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Budapest Schubert Ensemble “Seldom is it dispatched with such a winning combination of joviality, delicate melancholy, technical finesse and rhythmic dash.” Los Angeles Times | | | (also available to download from $6.00) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Schubert: Octet in F major, D803
If you are looking for first-class chamber music, then you have come to the right address: Consortium Classicum. For more than thirty years this name has stood for the very best in German classical music. The ensemble, a regular member of the MDG recording team, has been showered with rave reviews and recording prizes. | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Schubert: Octet in F major, D803
Consort of London, Robert Clark | |
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| |  | Schubert: Chamber Music
Schubert: | Piano Quintet in A major, D667 'The Trout' James Levine, Gerhart Hetzel, Wolfram Christ, Georg Faust & Alois Posch String Quartet No. 13 in A minor, D804 'Rosamunde' Hagen Quartett Octet in F major, D803 Gidon Kremer, Isabelle van Keulen, Tabea Zimmerman, David Geringas, Alois Posch, Eduard Brunner, Radovan Vlatkovic & Klaus Thunemann |
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| |  | Schubert: Octet in F major, D803
‘dazzingly good chamber ensemble’ The Times '...no praise can be too high for the Fibonacci Sequence's polished and dashingly committed performances...' Gramophone One of Britain’s most foremost chamber ensembles, The Fibonacci Sequence perform the sublime masterpiece, The Octet in F by Franz Schubert. Written as a commission and modelled on Beethoven’s Septet, Schubert’s Octet in F takes the form of a largescale divertimento – a piece to be listened to as recreation, not too demanding, not too serious. Composed in March 1824, it is the largest in scale of Schubert’s chamber works with scoring for clarinet, bassoon, horn, two violins, viola, cello and double bass. Schubert’s gift for melody and for brilliant yet delicate decoration shines on this disc, highlighted by the voice of the solo violin as it traverses the myriad moods of this sublime masterpiece with the clarinet and fellow members of this distinguished ensemble. “This recording...in wonderfully natural sound, with the instruments exceptionally well balanced. The playing is relaxed, seemingly taking the view that is virtually music to eat to...this disc makes ideal easy listening” BBC Music Magazine, February 2011 **** “The Fibonacci Sequence want you to know Schubert's Octet is as inventive as the best of his work...Disc of the year material, I'd say. The Fibonaccis sound like they're having a ball.” Classic FM Magazine, March 2011 ***** “Allegros are taken at a properly lively tempo, and I enjoyed the propulsive double-bass playing of Duncan McTier...There is pleasant, understated horn playing from Stephen Stirling” International Record Review, January 2011 “The ever adaptable Fibonacci Sequence – ensemble in residence at Kingston School of Music – here led by Jack Liebeck, savour the six movements in a beautifully balanced recording that bowls along with affectionate sweetness.” The Independent on Sunday, 20th March 2011 | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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