Schumann: Piano Quartet, Piano Quintet

Alexander Melnikov (piano), Jerusalem Quartet

SCHUMANN: Piano Quintet Op.44, Piano Quartet Op.44

The Piano Quintet Op.44 and Piano Quartet Op.47 date from a brief period during which Robert Schumann focused his attention intensively on chamber music (between June 1842 and January 1843). These works underline his wish to 'escape' from the solo piano, now ‘too restricted’ for his overflowing imagination, as he told Clara. The Piano Quintet, which made a powerful impression on Wagner, is probably one of his most sophisticated works, into which Schumann poured all the creative energy he derived from meticulous examination of similar works by his predecessors, especially Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Schubert. These performances by the Jerusalem Quartet and pianist Alexander Melnikov focus on the introspective nature of these gems of the Romantic period.

Price: $19.98