Dohnányi's First Piano Quintet, Op 1, written when the composer was only 18, is a work of abounding confidence and energy that's played here with suitable verve and exuberance. Roscoe and the Vanbrugh Quartet luxuriate in lush, romantic textures in the first movement, and delight in the melodic exchanges of the warmly expressive Adagio. Moreover, their expression of Hungarian flavour, evident in the Scherzo's jaunty cross-rhythms and the engagingly dancelike finale, has considerable charm.
The Second Quintet, written some 19 years later, shows a striking advance in technique.
Sensitive evocation of atmosphere in the first movement by Roscoe and the Vanbrugh Quartet highlights both Dohnányi's more searching harmonic language and his remarkably fresh and imaginative approach to form.
The performers deftly blend the Intermezzo's faintly Viennese character with the flamboyant toccata material, and the final movement's fusion of slow movement and finale is ingeniously turned from sombre minor to radiant major. Both the quintets display Dohnányi's considerable pianistic skills; the Suite in the OldStyle being a highly effective display of the composer's parody of Baroque keyboard techniques.
Roscoe's evident sympathy for his music contributes to this arrestingly persuasive account, which fully exploits the work's rich variety of style and technique.