One of the performers’ tasks [in the Franck] is to grade the excitements so that we get some feeling of shape in a whole movement. Here this task is fulfilled admirably, helped by discreet vibrato here and there…Fauré’s quartet is less about drama than efflorescence, and in this Mami Shikimori’s attention to the bass is vital…This ensemble is virtually flawless, making intelligible what in less observant performances can become a meaningless jumble.

This beautifully recorded juxtaposition of two three-movement, minor-key, harmonically progressive French masterpieces...makes for a deeply satisfying disc. Both achieve a balance of the string and keyboard forces, avoiding the clatter of an overdominant piano.

[Franck] This is a forceful performance, mature in every sense, and they know how to imbue it with grand passion without lapsing into garish sentimentality. Fauré’s First Quintet is more gentle and the secret here is to catch the harmonic density while keeping the music fluid...this is a disc to savour.