While it is always wonderful to have a recording of Schumann's early C minor Piano Quartet coupled with his mature E flat major Piano Quartet, the result of that coupling is usually only half a disc of listenable music. Because while the E flat major quartet is surely one of the masterpieces of the repertoire, the C minor quartet is, as its composer once sadly described it, "botched." The reason for this is straight-forward. The E flat quartet written when Schumann was 32 has the passion of youth joined with the technique of maturity, while the C minor quartet written when the composer was 19 has the passion of youth expressed without temperance -- or indeed, competence. Schumann's E flat quartet is assuredly on the same level as Mozart or Brahms' works in the genre, but his C minor quartet is worth hearing only if you really love the E flat quartet.
Nevertheless, the Trio Parnassus with guest violist Hariolf Schlichtig insists on performing both works with absolute and unswerving dedication in this 2006 recording, and while the result couldn't be described as revelatory, the performances of both works are equally persuasive. In the E flat quartet, the musicians have the expressivity, the intensity, the drive, and the vigor of Schumann at his mature best. And in the C minor quartet, they have the same qualities -- without emotional restraint but with complete technical control. As captured in Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm's silver and gold sound, this E flat quartet sounds as good as the best ever recorded, while the C minor quartet sounds better than one could ever have imagined it.
by James Leonard
