George Enescu: Piano Quartet No 1; Piano Trio

George Enescu: Piano Quartet No 1; Piano Trio

8.573616 (Naxos, CD)

DDD
FIRST RELEASE (25 February 2022)

Playing time: 58'18"
Tracks: 6
Booklet pages: 6
℗ 2022 Naxos Rights US Inc
© 2022 Naxos Rights US Inc
Main country of recording: Spain
Country of manufacture: Germany
Reviewer: Geoff Pearce
Review of George Enescu: Piano Quartet No 1; Piano Trio published on 23 March 2022

Stefan Tarara, violin
Molly Carr, viola
Eun-Sung Hong, cello
Josu De Solaun, piano

George Enescu (1881-1955):

Piano Trio in A minor (1916)
1 Allegro moderato
2 Allegretto con variazioni: Allegretto moderato – Presto – Allegro
piacevole – Tempo di Siciliano lento
3 Andante – Vivace amabile

Piano Quartet No 1 in D, Op 16 (1909)
4 Allegro moderato
5 Andante mesto
6 Vivace

Recorded 15-20 January 2017 at Palau de la Música de València, Spain.

Chamber music was a crucial element in Enescu's output and these two works, separated by seven years, represent very different phases of his compositional development. The large-scale Piano Quartet No. 1 marks the climax of his early maturity. The Piano Trio in A minor, however, was unknown until 1965 and represents a more transitional stage – a compact but intricately expressive work with an animated and compelling sequence of variations at its heart.