These two pieces are so tuneful and so well-crafted that it’s virtually impossible to play them badly, or even dully, and there’s certainly no risk of that here. In the Piano Quintet, Christian Zacharias offers a sensitive and poetic counterpoint to the excellent string play of the Leipzig String Quartet, and their treatment of the long second-movement Dumka hangs together especially well. In the Furiant Scherzo, though, they are just fractionally less lively than many Czech groups, though the outer movements give no cause to quibble. The String Quintet goes just as well on the whole, with beautifully rich textures and plenty of vivacity. Here I would have preferred just a touch more rhythmic emphasis in the second movement’s “American Indian” drumming, but again this is a minor point, and many will enjoy this swifter-than-traditional view.
MDG provides typically fine sonics, with the strings well balanced against a piano that turns a bit glassy in its upper register at higher dynamic levels. The real question is whether or not, with such fine versions already available from various Czech groups on Supraphon (Panocha Quartet) and Praga (Klánský/Prazák Quartet), you will want to spend premium price to acquire this newcomer, even if the coupling of these two particular works is somewhat unique. This is a decision you must make for yourself; if you ultimately opt to go for it, you won’t be sorry.
