Information
Composer: Edward Elgar
- String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83: I. Allegro moderato
- String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83: II. Piacevole (poco andante)
- String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83: III. Allegro molto
- Mina
- Laura Valse
- March in D major
- Impromptu
- Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84: I. Moderato - Allegro
- Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84: II. Adagio
- Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84: III. Andante - Allegro
Piers Lane, piano
Goldner String Quartet
Dene Olding, violin
Dimity Hall, violin
Irina Morozova, viola
Julian Smiles, cello
Date: 2011
Label: Hyperion
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No beating about the bush: the Goldners give the most sublimely articulate and raptly communicative reading of Elgar’s elusive String Quartet that it’s been my privilege to encounter. It’s not just their fabulous technical address and scrupulous adherence to the text that are so impressive (all achieved, I should add, without a whiff of self-conscious display), but the recreative ardour, tumbling fantasy and sinewy strength they bring to this marvellous score make it seem as though the ink is barely dry on the manuscript, as well as making you appreciate afresh the supreme mastery of the composer’s part-writing. Certainly, it’s hard to conceive the fragrant Piacevole centrepiece enjoying more pliable or wistfully poetic treatment than here.
The performance of the epic Piano Quintet evinces a comparable generosity of spirit, very real sense of teamwork and flawless discipline. Piers Lane’s own earlier account with the youthful Vellinger Quartet (CfP, 9/95R) remains a notable achievement but this thrillingly dedicated new version conveys even more of the music’s far-flung ambition, subtle motivic interplay, arresting drama and spooky undertow (Elgar’s imagination had been sparked by a colourful local myth that a clump of dead trees near his West Sussex cottage were the twisted forms of Spanish monks struck by lightning while engaging in pagan rites).
Sandwiched between the two main offerings come four piano miniatures, the haunting, dream-like waltz Mina from 1932‑33 (named after Elgar’s pet Cairn Terrier) being the pick of the bunch. Ben Connellan’s Potton Hall sound and balance are beyond reproach; Diana McVeagh contributes a scholarly and highly illuminating booklet essay. This is, quite simply, a superlative CD.
-- Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone
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Edward Elgar (2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos for violin and cello, and two symphonies. He also composed choral works, including The Dream of Gerontius, chamber music and songs. Elgar has been described as the first composer to take the gramophone seriously. Between 1914 and 1925, he conducted a series of acoustic recordings of his own works.
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Piers Lane (born 8 January 1958) is an Australian classical pianist. Born in London and grew up in Brisbane, he graduated with a Medal of Excellence from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, where his teacher was Nancy Weir. Lane first came to prominence at the inaugural Sydney International Piano Competition in 1977, at which he was named Best Australian Pianist. Since 2007, he is the artistic director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music held annually in Townsville. Lane has an extensive discography on the Hyperion label and has also recorded for EMI, Decca, BMG, Lyrita and Unicorn-Khanchana.
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The Goldner String Quartet is an Australian string quartet formed in 1995 in honour of Richard Goldner, the founder of Musica Viva Australia. The quartet consists of Dene Olding, Dimity Hall, Irina Morozova and Julian Smiles, who all are members of the Australia Ensemble. The Goldners have played throughout Australia and New Zealand, as well in the UK, USA, Korea, Finland, France and Italy, and with artists such as Boris Berman, Ian Munro, Piers Lane, Daniel Adni, Malcolm Bilson, Brett Dean and Slava Grigoryan. In August 2023 the Goldner String Quartet announced that the 2024 season would be its last.
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