The Trout Quintet has not lacked for fine recordings, and here is another, effortlessly gracious and musical. The ensemble builds through the introduction to the opening allegro with a sure sense of where the music wants to go, and continues with lively rhythms and excellent balances (the doublebass has presence but never weighs the players down). They bring particular verve to the scherzo and characterize the “Trout” variations extremely well. Only the finale strikes me as a touch soft when compared to, say, Zacharias/Leipzig on MDG, another of the best modern versions. The coupling, though, is a big attraction. Any transcription from flute to something else is likely to represent an improvement, and this arrangement of the “Trockne Blumen” variations for violin and piano works wonderfully well, the tone of Renaud Capuçon’s instrument adding considerably to this often brooding piece’s communicative melancholy. The little song transcription at the end makes a nice encore, and the sonics are very easy on the ear. A fine disc.
