One of the very few ensembles devoted entirely to the performance of piano quintet literature, the KVINTETTI piano quintet presents one of the cornerstones of the repertoire -- the Brahms F minor Quintet -- alongside a work by Heinrich von Herzogenberg, a contemporary and (eventual) follower of Brahms. Neither good programming nor their devotion to the piano quintet as an ensemble, however, are sufficient to pull out a satisfying performance. Topping the list of problems is intonation, which ranges from problematic to completely intolerable throughout the entire CD. Most of the ensemble's performance sounds as if everything it is doing is extremely difficult and it is struggling just to hold things together; there's no warmth, no long lines, and little unity of execution. The order of the program is not ideal, either. Even given an excellent performance, it would be difficult for the Herzogenberg quintet -- which is an interesting, relatively enjoyable piece -- to follow on the heels of the titanic Brahms quintet. With the less-than-stellar performance given here, it's even more difficult for listeners to maintain their interest and enthusiasm for a lesser-known composition. While the introduction of infrequently performed literature is always nice, the Herzogenberg quintet alone does not make this album a good choice for listeners; technical and musical problems simply run too deep.
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