Mariani Klavierquartett - Brahms & Gernshiem: Piano Quartets

After Volume 1, which was awarded a Diapason d'or, Mariani Klavierquartett continues its journey of discovery, juxtaposing the piano quartets of Johannes Brahms and Friedrich Gernsheim. Although this second album is dominated by Brahms's luminescent A-Major Quartet and although thefriendship of the two composers stands at the center of this three-part project, Gernsheim's F-MajorQuartet shows that not only Brahms numbered among his influences, but that Gernsheim was also able toblend echoes of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Schubert into a convincing personal style. In the hands ofthe Mariani Piano Quartet, the formal perfection of his fervent work gleams with undreamt-of power.