23.01.2017

Share:

Rozycki/Friedman: Piano Quintets
Jonathan Plowright (piano)
Szymanowski Quartet
Hyperion 0034571281247  

* * * *  

Great musicianship and unleashed passion in the Rozycki  A marvellous CD that combines unknown composers. Listening to it has made me feel that this is what music making should be about and prompted me to remember these works to blind test a friend. Indeed, Polish composer Ludomir Rozycki’s Piano Quintet could easily be mistaken for a youthful Brahms or Schumann Quintet. Not that the music is of such a promising quality, but surely not a CD to forget either. The sympathetic musicians who not only perform the work with warmth and passion at the same time in the first movement should be credited the success of the CD. Their gestures are full of colour and a variety of tones help to expand on the work’s feelings, which sometimes tend to remain on the surface. The second movement is a case in point there, where the musicians’ efforts are unable to improve the lack of creativity of Rozycki. This should not be read to degrade the composer though, as music making is as much about introducing new composers as repeating known masterpieces and this is a valuable CD that no collector should miss. This is evident by the abundance of ideas that the last movement possesses. Pianist Ignaz Friedman’s Piano Quintet is no less interesting, though musically inferior to that of Rozycki. Friedman’s too pianistic conception hides the string players behind the piano and the balance between the instruments is misconceived. Nevertheless, it makes a perfect pairing to the composer’s compatriot Rozycki’s work. What is striking in this quintet, too, is the dedication of the musicians and how such convincing interpretation adds to works of mere interest. This is what music making is for.  

Feyzi Erçin