Brahms was a most accomplished
pianist and supported his family financially
from an early age playing the piano
in dockside bordellos in the German
port of Hamburg. Furthermore his output
for the piano spanned his entire life
often making piano reductions of his
orchestral, choral and chamber works,
many of them for piano-duo to allow
them greater accessibility to a wider
audience including, for example, a piano
reduction of his mighty German Requiem.
This Naxos release
contains reductions for four-hand piano
of the third string quartet op. 67 and
the first string quintet op.88 which
prove to be most welcome additions to
the catalogue. German-born duo Silke-Thora
Matthies and Christian Kohn have been
performing together as a partnership
for almost twenty years and offer memorable
and sparkling performances of this repertoire
for Naxos.
The first work on this
release is the underrated String
Quartet No.3 in B flat major from
1875. It is often said that the world
of Mozart is clearly displayed by Brahms
in this four movement work and that
the opening movement Vivace is
reminiscent of Mozart’s Hunt Quartet
K.458 which shares the same key.
Matthies and Kohn are pianists in command
of their technique with a total belief
in their interpretation. The pair have
a calm, stylish and controlled attitude
to these works; flashiness and crudity
are not words in their vocabulary. The
presence and remarkable lightness of
touch when required from Matthies and
Kohn are outstanding and made a considerable
impact on me.
The String Quintet
No.1 in F major is a three movement
work composed in 1882 when Brahms was
holidaying at the fashionable resort
of Bad Ischl. I find the final movement
Allegro energico particularly
impressive and handled expertly by Matthies
and Kohn who offer just the right amount
of rhythmic drive. Throughout this demanding
work the impressive pair display a subtle
tonal palette and a real sensitivity
to detail.
It is a puzzle why
these recordings which were made in
November 1997 have only been released
now in June 2004; however with playing
as fine as this it has been well worth
the long wait. The high calibre duo
display a refined musicianship and outstanding
technical prowess in this excellent
Naxos release.
Michael Cookson
Silke-Thora Matthies (piano)