Saint-Saëns: Piano Quintet; String Quartet No. 1

The Quartetto di Cremona play with zest, bright colours, great assurance and a tight ensemble that can change direction on a sixpence. Andrea Lucchesini is the excellent pianist — Gramophone Magazine, December 2016 More…

Release Date: 23rd Sep 2016
Catalogue No: AUDITE97728
Label: Audite
Length: 63 minutes

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Saint-Saëns: Piano Quintet in A minor Op. 14

Work length31:15

$8.00

$10.35

Andrea Lucchesini, Andrea Lumachi
Quartetto di Cremona

I. Allegro moderato e maestoso

Track length10:23

$3.00

$3.85

II. Andante sostenuto

Track length7:26

$2.00

$2.60

III. Presto

Track length4:38

$1.00

$1.30

IV. Allegro assai, ma non tranquillo

Track length8:48

$2.00

$2.60

Saint-Saëns: String Quartet No. 1 in E minor, Op. 112

Work length32:15

$7.00

$9.05

Quartetto di Cremona

I. Allegro

Track length11:28

$3.00

$3.85

II. Molto allegro quasi presto

Track length5:46

$1.00

$1.30

III. Molto adagio

Track length8:37

$2.00

$2.60

IV. Allegro non troppo

Track length6:24

$1.00

$1.30

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Six Italians and one Frenchman: a consummate realisation of Saint-Saëns multifaceted musical idiom These two chamber works represent Camille Saint-Saëns early perfection and his expressive classical mature style. Brilliance and an unerring sense of form; calm, melancholy resting and energetic gestures; romantic vocal qualities and exquisite compositional art the contrasts characterising Saint-Saëns musical idiom are perfectly realised by the Quartetto di Cremona. Six Italians and one Frenchman: a consummate realisation of Saint-Saëns multifaceted musical idiom. For its latest CD featuring works by Camille Saint-Saëns, the award-winning Quartetto di Cremona draws on sixteen years of giving concerts and making recordings. Leading Italian pianist Andrea Lucchesini joins the ensemble for the Piano Quintet: the third movement of the work is presented here in the rare version adding a double bass (ad lib.).

These two chamber music works of the French composer represent crucial stages in his oeuvre: the Piano Quintet, a work of early perfection, demonstrates Saint-Saëns engagement with German Romanticism, particularly with Robert Schumann and his formal idiom. The String Quartet, marking the transition into his late style, represents the first chamber piece in which Saint-Saëns leaves out his own instrument, the piano. Here, his version of the classical style clear forms and a colourful expressive spectrum becomes especially clear. Brilliance and an unerring sense of form; calm, melancholy resting and energetic gestures; romantic vocal qualities and exquisite compositional art the contrasts characterising Saint-Saëns musical idiom are perfectly realised by the Quartetto di Cremona.

Reviews

December 2016

The Quartetto di Cremona play with zest, bright colours, great assurance and a tight ensemble that can change direction on a sixpence. Andrea Lucchesini is the excellent pianist

16th October 2016

Anyone who thinks Saint-Saëns to be a composer of the merely light or spectacular should encounter his anything but facile chamber music...Lucchesini plays with brilliant deftness, while the Cremona Quartet demonstrate their trademark combination of Italianate flair and immaculate ensemble.

Saint-Saëns: Piano Quintet; String Quartet No. 1

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