Piano Quartet (1890)
String Quartet No 1 (1883)
Nocturne and Scherzo for flute and string quartet (1918)
Barbagallo is much associated with the four Naxos volumes of Macdowell piano
music. The present recording is amongst Barbagallo's last recordings before
his tragically early death.
The Piano Quartet is a Brahmsian effusion of some élan dedicated to
John Knowles Paine ( a contemporary of similar reputation). The first movement
echoes with Mendelssohnian feather-down and the second's brilliance is out
of the pages of Mendelssohn's Octet for strings. The Adagio is all
Schubertian sweetness and reflective repose (Schubert's String Quintet).
Perhaps a tad overlong, it is followed by a bustling Allegro Non Troppo.
The 1883 String Quartet No. 1 is again Mendelssohnian - fresh, genuine and
with no hint of artifice. It is dedicated to the conductor Theodore Thomas.
The latest work in the two volumes is the Nocturne and Scherzo - a
work of sensuous delight rather in contrast to the golden age Teutonic
romanticism of many of these pieces. Its tart and chiming counterpoint is
quite original but a more conventional air settles on the scherzo with more
charming Mendelssohnian chatter.
Good notes and attractive unconsidered music.
Reviewer
Rob Barnett
James Barbagallo (piano) Jeani Muhonen Foster (flute) Da Vinci
Quartet
