Korngold: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 16; Piano Quintet Op. 15

Description

The second and last volume of the Alma Quartet's survey of Korngold's complete String Quartets comprising the First Quartet (composed in 1923) and the Piano Quintet (1921).

This second opus represents a return to Korngold's roots, an attempt to rediscover the innocence and enormous artistic fertility that characterised the young composer. His first quartet and his piano quintet attest to an unbelievable talent and a visionary spirit rooted in the musical ferment of Vienna at the beginning of the twentieth century. Beyond the fatigue one inevitably feels upon finishing a recording, we are suddenly aware of the distance we have travelled. Korngold's music has transported us these last few years, but it has transformed us, too. This recording is our catharsis, a balm for the difficult years of Covid. Today, we realize just how lucky we are to be able to give concerts, to create encounters with audiences and to touch people through our recordings.

'Encounters' could well be the title of this album. It is not only a musical encounter with Korngold, but a temporal one as well, taking us on a journey from Vienna to Hollywood, through the dark decades of history. It is also an encounter of artistry and friendship with Severin, who has guided us from his piano.

Also available:

CC72869 Korngold String Quartets, vol. 1

DISC OF THE WEEK, Record Review, BBC Radio 3

"It really is a ravishing listen […]. The Almas shade instinctively between the spiky and the sensuous, turning jagged rhythms on a ha'penny and charging the whole thing with an immediacy that nonetheless feels wholly natural. This is intensely characterful playing that never sounds mannered – complex without becoming congested." – Gramophone

"There's inventiveness and a sense of adventure in these burnished performances – utterly refined, yet warm and tender too." – BBC Music Magazine ****