BBC Music Magazine: It is hard not to be beguiled by the charms of Fauré's First Piano Quintet when played with the kind of understanding displayed by The Schubert Ensemble. They are similarly convincing in the late C minor Quintet… William Howard brings a suitably fleet-fingered lightness of touch to the shyly virtuosic piano part, and each of the string players combines beauty with incisiveness.
After twenty-six years at the forefront of British music performance, the Schubert Ensemble is firmly established as one of the world’s leading exponents of chamber music for piano and strings. In 1998 its contribution to British musical life was recognised by the Royal Philharmonic Society which presented the group with the Best Chamber Ensemble Award.
The group is passionate about the music of Fauré and in recent years has championed the reflective and highly individual Quintets at its many concerts across the UK.
Fauré was taught by Saint-Saëns, a lifelong friend, and Fauré in his turn taught Ravel. He broke new ground: in fusing the pre-baroque modes with the traditional tonal system, he created a fluid sense of constantly shifting harmony which is inimitably his own. The fluidity is apparently effortless, but if you listen closely to his Piano Quintets you will hear great drama, tension and profound emotion, all skilfully demonstrated.
‘Chamber music’, wrote Fauré, ‘really is… true music and the most sincere expression of a genuine personality.’ And in his chamber music he achieved something remarkable.
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