Schumann's oeuvre was created in stages, often each year concentrating on a particular genre. The year 1842 was devoted to chamber music, with the three string quartets, the Piano Quintet op.44 and the Piano Quartet op.47 as the result. The Piano Quintet has become the most popular of the last two works. The work is attractive because of the almost manic energy that rumbles on endlessly, especially
… in the three fast parts. It is thus the earliest example of the piano quintet genre that has held repertoire. But the somewhat more controlled Piano Quartet is also very beautiful, including a movingly beautiful Andante cantabile. The musicians of this CD are of Norwegian descent. Pianist Nils Anders Mortensen is a student of Einar Steenøkleberg and Tatjana Nikolajeva, among others. The Engegård Quartet arose, according to their own words, in 2006 in the Lofoten Islands in the light of the midnight sun. (HJ)more
