Antonín Dvořák - Piano Quintets (Sviatoslav Richter; Borodin Quartet)

Information

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

• Piano Quintet No. 1 in A major, Op. 5
• Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, Op. 81

Sviatoslav Richter, piano

Borodin Quartet

    Mikhail Kopelman, violin

    Andrei Abramenkov, violin

    Dmitri Shebalin, viola

    Valentin Berlinsky, cello

Date: 1982

Label: Philips

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Review

If you're looking for the best-performed, best-recorded, best-coupled version of Dvorák's magnificent Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81, look no further. Although some might argue that the performance is too Russian, the playing of the Borodin Quartet and Sviatoslav Richter is so strong, so soulful, and so consummately musical that calling it too Russian because of the violinist's vibrato or Richter's virtuosity seems pretty petty. And while some might claim that Philips' live recording from the 1982 Prague Festival is too edgy and intimate, the sound is so vital, so vivid, and so amazingly real that edgy and intimate are precisely the apt adjectives. And, of course, while some might quite reasonably point out that Dvorák's other Piano Quintet in A major Op. 5, is an exceedingly early work with little of the drama and power of the later work, even they would have to agree that the two works make ideal discmates. While old timers may have their favorite recordings of the Op. 81 Quintet -- the richly lyrical Curzon/Vienna Philharmonic Decca disc comes immediately to mind -- anyone who doesn't already know the work could not do better than do get to know it through this performance.

— James Leonard

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Antonín Dvořák (September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904) was a Czech composer. He was the second Czech composer to achieve worldwide recognition, after Bedřich Smetana. Following Smetana's nationalist example, many of Dvořák's works show the influence of Czech folk music, such as his  two sets of Slavonic Dances, the Symphonic Variations, and the overwhelming majority of his songs. Dvořák wrote in a variety of forms: nine symphonies, ten operas, three concertos, several symphonic poems, serenades for string orchestra and wind ensemble, more than 40 works of chamber music, and piano music.

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Sviatoslav Richter (March 20 [O.S. March 7] 1915 – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet pianist known for the depth of his interpretations, virtuoso technique, and vast repertoire. He is considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. Richter worked tirelessly to learn new pieces. His vast repertoire, around eighty different programs, not counting chamber works, ranged from Handel and Bach to Szymanowski, Berg, Webern, Stravinsky, Bartók, Hindemith, Britten, and Gershwin. Despite his large discography, Richter disliked the recording process, and most of Richter's recordings originate from live performances.

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The Borodin Quartet was formed in 1945 by four students from the Moscow Conservatory and remains one of the very few existing established chamber ensembles with uninterrupted longevity. The ensemble has survived many changes in personnel, with current members include Nicolai Sachenko, Sergei Lomovsky, Igor Naidin and Vladimir Balshin. The quartet was one of the Soviet Union's best known in the West during the Cold War era, through recordings and concert performances in the United States and Europe. Their recordings include works by a wide range of composers on the Melodiya, Teldec, Virgin, and Chandos labels.

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