Fauré: Piano Quartets / Emanuel Ax, Isaac Stern, Jaime Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma (1993)

Gabriel Faure (1845-1924) inhabits a "sound world" uniquely his own: moody, harmonically complex, sometimes neurotically so, melodically elusive. Less readily accessible than either of his French contemporaries, Debussy and Ravel, Faure's chamber music, nonetheless, is infinitely rewarding and certainly should be more widely recorded and available.

This remarkably rich offering of Faure's only two piano quartets (in C Minor, Op. 15 and G Minor, Op. 45) will, no doubt, go a long way in re-energizing interest in this coupling of the composer's most "popular" ensemble works. The reason is obvious: Ax, Stern, Ma, and Laredo. These musicians, glorious all, bring to Faure a warmth, freshness, depth, clarity and affection I've never heard in any other interpretation. Rather than dwelling on the somber, often disturbing musical elements Faure can manifest, these remarkable performers infuse the music with a robust charm, full-blooded emotional intensity and a delicious sense of pluck that is irresistibly impish–- all seeming easily and spontaneously generated.

Accessible is a word that is critical here. All too often, and Faure is no exception, it is the performance that can make or break a composition, especially on initial hearing. Faure needs finessing, understanding, simpatico; otherwise, his chamber compositions can sound a tad oppressive. Musicians, like these, who reach into the very core of Faure and retrieve the penultimate glories of his searching, timeless Adagios, who can transform opening Allegros into masterpieces unto themselves, and whose playing radiates the subtle, naive delight imbued in the Scherzos, are the kind of incredible artists who enable Faure to have his say and to become readily and beautifully accessible.

Violinist Stern and violist Laredo meld effortlessly, yet elucidate Faure's complex writing sublimely, while Ma's cello is always supportive, never intrusive, and pianist Ax, superb throughout, keeps apace of every mood, every shift in design, every nuance–- and never center-stages himself. The integration of this ensemble, particularly in these Faure piano quartets, is a miracle to hear, their playing raising these works to near pinnacle height; yet, at the very same time, keeping Faure entirely approachable. The recording itself, too, is a revelation: warm, full, detailed and thrillingly realistic. The "presence" of these musicians is immediate. ~amazon


Tracklisting

01. I. Allegro molto moderato / 9:28
02. Piano Quartet No.1 in C minor Op.15 -II- Scherzo. Allegro vivo / 5:46
03. III. Adagio / 8:00
04. IV. Allegro molto / 8:14
05. I. Allegro molto moderato / 11:25
06. Piano Quartet No.2 in G minor Op.45 -II- Scherzo. Allegro molto / 3:22
07. III. Adagio non troppo / 11:27
08. IV. Allegro molto / 9:12


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