This is a beautiful, fresh recording of Dvorák’s two lovely piano quintets. Piers Lane is a terrific chamber music player–just listen to how intelligently he balances his part against the strings in the finale of the First quintet. You never get the sense that he’s holding back, but with characterful articulation and incisive rhythm he manages to shine without ever overshadowing the strings. The Goldner Quartet features Australian first violinist Dene Olding, who made some excellent solo recordings for ABC Classics. The Goldners play very well, with a touch more edge to their tone than, say, the Panocha Quartet on Supraphon, but with the kind of robust lyricism that benefits both works, particularly in the long Dumka second movement of Op. 81.
Indeed, one of the major virtues of this coupling is the excellent pacing in both works. The Second quintet is a difficult piece to judge, with its two very long opening movements followed by two much shorter ones. This performance gets it right: the second movement is well contrasted and not too slow, and the trio of the scherzo is simply heavenly. In the First quintet the flowing tempo of its central slow movement, a touch quicker than usual, seems absolutely right. Indeed, the whole performance has an unusual degree of rhythmic strength and boldness, belying the notion that Dvorák’s Op. 5, at least in its final form, is in any way immature. Outstandingly natural engineering completes a most attractive package.
