L'affare Modigliani

Brahms' only Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34, had a turbulent history before finally taking its rightful place as one of the composer's most sublime chamber works. The quintet began its life as a string quintet; pressure coming from Brahms' friends eventually saw the string quintet's score destroyed in place of a sonata for two pianos. Though Brahms was fond of this version, further suggestions found hard at work on a third and final change in instrumentation, which resulted in the work we know today. At only 31 years of age, the sophistication found in this score is nothing short of profound. Brahms varies the voicing to achieve a nearly symphonic sound on one end and a tenderly intimate chamber feeling on the other.

Raphaël Sévère releases a new album dedicated to Mozart's concerto and quintet, in collaboration with the Modigliani Quartet and the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris conducted by Lars Vogt.

Being that Schubert was suffering great mental and physical anguish at the time of his Octet’s completion in 1824, it’s surprising that the work is so sunny and optimistic. At a little over an hour, it’s the Austrian composer’s longest chamber work—and his most inspired. With just eight instruments, Schubert crafts an opening movement on the scale of a Beethoven symphony, ideas ricocheting between strings and woodwind, bass and treble. The “Adagio” is a sublime song for clarinet that rivals Mozart for its understated beauty while an ebullient central scherzo, stately variations, and suave minuetto culminate in a finale of intense drama that seems to glance toward Wagner. It’s all stunningly recorded and performed, too—a benchmark performance full of wit, passion, and charm.

Though both men were pioneers of a new musical identity in a Europe inflamed by nationalist movements, Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) and Bedřich Smetana (1824-84) allowed numerous years to elapse before turning to the string quartet. Did they feel a certain apprehension towards a genre too closely bound up with the Austro-German tradition from which they were trying to break away? No doubt other forms had proved more conducive to their folk-tinged musical language – the miniature for Grieg, the opera and the symphonic poem for Smetana.

Une jeune, brillante et séduisante étudiante en histoire de l’art, décidée à écrire sa thèse sur la relation entre la drogue et la créativité artistique, découvre par la même occasion l’existence d’un Modigliani perdu ; elle décide de se lancer sur ses traces, entraînant derrière elle une série de personnages hétéroclites …

This is the musical equivalent of a box of assorted high-end chocolates: loads of treats in bite-size pieces, with something for everybody. Barber’s Adagio, heard here in its original string-quartet version, is the one everyone will be reaching for and the Modigliani don’t disappoint, giving us playing of poise and rapt intensity. Miniatures by composers from Mozart to Leroy Anderson—whose “Plink, Plank, Plunk!” is suitably madcap—via Mendelssohn, Korngold, and many others show off playing of charm, humor, and great panache.