Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25

I. Allegro

II. Intermezzo: Allegro (Ma Non Troppo)—Trio: Animato

III. Andante Con Moto

IV Rondo Alla Zingarese: Presto

Piano Quintet in F minor Op. 34

I. Allegro Non Troppo

II. Andante Un Poco Adagio

III. Scherzo: Allegro

IV. Finale: Poco Sostenuto—Allegro Non Troppo—Presto, Non Troppo

Robin Wilson and Rachael Beesley - violin

Nicole Forsyth - viola

Daniel Yeadon - cello

Neal Peres Da Costa - piano after J.B. Streicher & Sohn c.1868

Brahms: Tones of Romantic Extravagance

Australian period-instrument Ironwood shines new light on two of the most popular chamber works of the Romantic era, revealing the passion, power and intimate beauty of Brahms as they perform on the instruments the composer knew and loved.

Ironwood’s interpretation of these popular works is the culmination of several years of cutting-edge research and painstaking experimentation. The results bring vividly to life the expressive practices of Brahms and his circle, which has been clearly documented in early recordings from the turn of the 20th century and contemporaneous written texts. Performing on gut-string instruments and a replica of Brahms’s much-favoured JB Streicher and Sons Viennese-action grand piano (parallel strung and with leather-covered hammers) dating from 1868, Brahms’s music is here imbued with the spirit, expressivity, rhythmic and temporal flexibility and soundscape that the composer undoubtedly expected to hear in performance.

The Op.25 Piano Quartet – the first of three that Brahms wrote – is book-ended by movements so large in soundscape, ideas and development as to feel symphonic. The third movement begins with a heart-on-sleeve song-like melody that is contrasted with a series of powerful themes which propel the music towards a dazzling finale, a tour de force that emulates the Hungarian gypsy style favoured by Haydn. The Op.34 Piano Quintet, Brahms’s most famous chamber work, combines Beethovenian explosiveness with the lyrical qualities of Schubert’s music, producing an unsurpassed level of musical expression.

“This album makes for excellent listening. The performances are outstanding and the integrity of the musical values is unquestionable.”

— Sounds Like Sydney, December 2016