Search - Paul Juon, Antonin Dvorak, Artis Ensemble Stuttgart :: Piano Quartets by Paul Juon & Antonín Dvorák

Two Masterful Romantic Piano Quartets

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 01/27/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The big news here is the Piano Quartet No. 1 by Paul Juon (1872-1940), a Swiss-born, Russia-raised and -educated composer who spent most of his adult life in Berlin before retiring to Switzerland. Juon's music had more or less fallen into obscurity after his death but it seems to be staging a welcome revival with some recent recordings. Among them is a fine disc of piano trios Juon: Piano Trios and a set of his string quartets Paul Juon: Sämtliche Streichquartette. There is a another CD containing his two piano quartets (including the one heard here) Paul Juon: Klavierquartette which I have not heard. The first quartet is in three movements and is written in what could be called a Brahmsian style. I would venture the opinion that it comes very near to the Brahms piano quartets in quality as well. There is harmonic richness, structural inventiveness and unfailing tunefulness. The Artis Piano Quartet (Stefan Bornscheuer, violin [Germany]; Paul Pesthy, viola [USA]; Marin Smesnoi, cello [Moldova]; Hiroko Atsumi, piano [Japan]) is a multinational group with graduates from the Curtis Institute, the Moscow Conservatory, the University of Tokyo and the Cologne College of Music. It is based in Stuttgart. They are a marvelous group with a fine sense of ensemble and the ability to convey the romantic gestures of both the Juon and the Dvorák with full effectiveness.



There are many recordings of the wonderfully tuneful First Piano Quartet of Dvorák, among which are those by Domus Dvorák: Piano Quartets and the the Beaux Arts Trio with Walter Trampler Dvorák: Piano Quartet No. 1; Piano Quartet No. 2 [Australia]. This performance deserves to share shelf space with those classic recordings.



Recorded sound is state of the art.



Scott Morrison"