Carl Reinecke - Piano Quartets; Piano Quintet (Linos Ensemble)

Information

Composer: Carl Reinecke

• Piano Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 34
• Piano Quartet in D Major, Op. 272
• Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 83

Linos Ensemble

    Konstanze Eickhorst, piano

    Winfried Rademacher, violin

    Sidsel Garm-Nielsen, violin

    Matthias Buchholz, viola

    Mario Blaumer, cello

Date: 1999

Label: CPO

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Review

Carl Reinecke’s music, on the evidence not only of the works on this disc but others that have passed my way, is seriously underrated. It possesses the sweeping Romantic qualities of Schumann, a dazzling technical brilliance (Reinecke was one of the most accomplished pianists of his age) and a compelling self-confidence rather at odds, one understands, with his self-effacing personality. Yet it is also both individual and deep in its content.

The two piano quartets recorded here make an excellent contrast, as, given the years between their composition, one might expect. Op. 34 is the more spacious and headstrong of the two, its debts to Schumann plain. Op. 272, published in 1904, aims on the other hand for concision, and was described by Reinecke as being ‘in the easier style’. It shows, too, textures and flavours from Brahms, and its ripe slow movement is complemented by a jaunty, lopsided Scherzo. The Piano Quintet – an acknowledged masterpiece among Reinecke aficionados – goes a step further, its mysterious, tonally ambiguous opening showing that the lessons of Wagner and even of early Schoenberg had been fully assimilated. The Linos Ensemble gives this fine music all the care it deserves in its passionate, clean performances.

— Stephen Pettitt

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Carl Reinecke (23 June 1824 – 10 March 1910) was a German composer, pianist, conductor and educator. He began composing at seven and performed publicly at twelve. After studying with prominent musicians, including Mendelssohn, Schumann and Liszt, he became court pianist in Copenhagen in 1846. In 1860, he was appointed conductor of Leipzig's Gewandhaus Orchestra and professor at the Leipzig Conservatory, leading the orchestra until 1895. Best known for his flute sonata Undine, Reinecke composed nearly 300 published works and taught influential musicians, including Edvard Grieg and Leoš Janáček.

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The Linos Ensemble was founded in 1977 by oboist Klaus Becker. Initially focused on traditional mixed chamber music, the ensemble expanded its repertoire through contemporary premieres, concert series, interdisciplinary projects, and collaborations combining music and literature. Its repertoire now includes over 130 works, ranging from Bach to Stockhausen. With more than 20 critically acclaimed recordings, the ensemble has received prestigious awards, including the German Record Critics' Prize and the ECHO Klassik 2017. Its musicians have also been featured in ARD and ZDF television portraits.

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