Brahms : Piano Quartets

Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon, Gérard Caussé, Nicholas Angelich – 2008

The Capuçons’ Brahms Piano trios are “sure to kindle anyone’s enthusiasm for Brahms. Warm, beautifully balanced tone stresses the composer’s romantic side, as does the expansive phrasing. There’s a feeling of spontaneity, too, as though each player is discovering new aspects to the music while recording it … The way they are able to strike a balance between Brahms’s energetic flow of ideas, his strongly delineated structures and his lyrical intensity is most satisfying.”

Disc 1 :

Piano Quartet No.1 in G minor, en sol mineur, g-moll Op.25
01 / I. Allegro
02 / II. Intermezzo Allegro ma non troppo Trio : Animato
03 / III. Andante con moto
04 / IV Rondo alla Zingarese Presto

Piano Quartet No.3 in C minor, en ut mineur, c-moll Op.60
05 / I. Allegro non troppo
06 / II. Scherzo Allegro
07 / III Andante
08 / IV Finale Allegro comodo

Disc 2 :

Piano Quartet No.2 in A major, en la majeur, A-dur Op.26
01 / I. Allegro non troppo
02 / II. Poco adagio
03 / III Scherzo Poco allegro Trio
04 / IV. Finale Allegro

As anyone who has heard their accounts of the Schubert piano trios with pianist Frank Brailey from last year will know, the Capucon brothers, violinist Renaud and cellist Gautier, are chamber musicians of the highest quality. They also seem to find collaborators of equal refinement, and these performances of the three Brahms piano quartets with viola player Gérard Caussé and pianist Nicholas Angelich, have a wonderfully natural flow and sense of poise. […]

[…] The conversational way in which the second quartet begins is a model of great ensemble work, too, with each musician listening intently to what the others are doing and shaping his response accordingly