Hermann Goetz; Ralph Vaughan Williams - Piano Quintets (Fabergé-Quintett; Yoko Kikuchi)

Information

Composer: Hermann Goetz; Ralph Vaughan Williams

• Vaughan Williams - Piano Quintet in C minor
• Goetz - Piano Quintet in C minor, Op. 16

Fabergé-Quintett

    Rodrigo Reichel, violin

    Gerhard Sibbing, viola

    Sven Forsberg, cello

    Peter Schmidt, double bass

&

Yoko Kikuchi, piano

Date: 2014

Label: Es-Dur

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Review

he lowest of the stringed instruments, the double bass has few opportunities in chamber music. Schubert’s Trout Quintet (violin, viola, cello, bass and piano) is a rare exception. The Fabergé, all members of NDR Symphony Orchestra in Hamburg, have exchanged the usual second violin for a bass, making a wonderful mellow sound in Vaughan Williams’s early Piano Quintet (1903), one of a number of works he withdrew, and which was only published in 2002. It has the romantic warmth of Brahms, with echoes of old folk songs and modal writing. The work is paired with another Piano Quintet in C minor, by the short-lived and little known Hermann Goetz (1840-76) – an altogether darker and more unsettling work. Let’s hear if for the double bass. — Fiona Maddocks

The success of Schubert's Trout Quintet, with its unusual line-up featuring a double bass, has never inspired many composers to follow suit. Here Hamburg's Fabergé-Quintett and Japanese pianist Yoko Kikuchi pair two who did. Both were in their 30s, and both decided to eschew the upbeat A major of the Schubert in favour of the darker hues of C minor. Vaughan Williams's quintet pre-dates the composer's mature, folk-influenced style, but it makes effective use of the bass-rich colouring, especially in the probing slow movement. Goetz is regarded as one of German music's great might- have beens (he died just before his 36th birthday), and this well-argued quintet is certainly full of promise. — Michael Dervan

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Hermann Goetz (7 December 1840 – 3 December 1876) was a German composer who spent much of his career in Switzerland. Born in Königsberg, he studied piano and composition with Hans von Bülow in Berlin before moving to Switzerland in 1863. He became city organist in Winterthur and gained recognition as a composer and music critic. Illness forced him to stop teaching and performing, leading him to focus solely on composing in his final years. His works include a symphony, concertos, chamber music, piano pieces, and two operas: Der Widerspänstigen Zähmung and Francesca von Rimini.

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Ralph Vaughan Williams (12 October 1872 – 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His compositional teachers included Hubert Parry and Charles Villiers Stanford at the Royal College of Music in London, Max Bruch in Berlin, and Maurice Ravel in Paris. Vaughan Williams' works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over sixty years. Strongly influenced by Tudor music and English folk-song, his output marked a decisive break in British music from its German-dominated style of the 19th century.

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The Fabergé-Quintett specializes in lesser-known chamber works, especially string quintets with double bass. Since 2000, they have performed widely at festivals and concerts in Europe and Asia. Their four CDs showcase rare repertoire, including string quintets by Adolphe Blanc (earning an ECHO Klassik award), piano quintets by Vaughan Williams and Goetz, piano sextets by Glinka, Lyapunov, and Tchaikovsky, and string quintets by Eugène Walckiers (winning the Diapason découverte). Their recordings and performances have received positive critical acclaim and extensive radio broadcasts internationally.

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Japanese pianist Yoko Kikuchi moved to Italy in 1996 to study at the International Piano Academy in Imola. After winning first prize at the 2002 International Mozart Competition in Salzburg, she has performed with major orchestras across Asia and Europe under renowned conductors like Lawrence Foster and Ivor Bolton. She has appeared at prestigious festivals including Salzburg and Prague Spring. Since her award-winning debut CD (Mozart) Kikuchi has released over ten CDs. Besides the piano, she is also passionate about other forms of art such as ballet, and divides her time between Tokyo, Vienna and Siena.

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