The first impression one may draw from Anton Rubinstein's Octet in D major, Op. 9, is that this isn't a chamber work -- it is a poorly disguised piano concerto! With scant regard for ensemble cohesion, balanced repartee, or even for the myriad coloristic possibilities, Rubinstein places the piano front and center, assigns it all the leading melodies, engineers the developments around it, and lavishes it with all the outrageous scales, arpeggios, arabesques, and hammered chords at his disposal. One scarcely hears the flute, clarinet, or horn, except in the briefest solos, and the four strings have unforgivably dull orchestral parts. Except for the Trio in the Vivace, where the piano is silent, and the quieter moments in the Andante non troppo, this work is little more than a run-on cadenza. The Quintet in F major, Op. 55, also suffers from Rubinstein's enthusiastic pianism, though in fairness it is more balanced in its exchanges between winds and keyboard, and timbres are more ingeniously exploited.
Consortium Classicum has made an important contribution in reviving these works, at least for educational purposes; while it is difficult to imagine these neglected pieces getting a new lease on life from this recording, the musicians render them with enough sympathy and energy to make them worth one hearing. Orfeo's sound quality is fine.