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Between 1785 and 1789, Ignaz Pleyel – Haydn’s former pupil and by then firmly established as one of the leading composers in Europe – composed no fewer than twelve string quintets. The origin of his comparatively short-lived interest in the string quintet remains a matter for conjecture, although he is unlikely to have encountered many works of this type during the five years spent as Haydn’s pupil. Rather, the experienced and well-travelled composer would have had ample opportunity to observe the popularity of the medium in France and Italy through the works of Giuseppe Maria Cambini, Luigi Boccherini and others.
Ignaz PLEYEL (1757–1831)
String Quintets, Ben. 271–273
Pettman Ensemble –Curt Thompson, Oksana Murashova Thompson, Violins
Wenhong Luo, William Vyvyan Murray, Violas • Edith Salzmann, Cello
The name Pleyel is chiefly remembered today as a piano manufacturer, but the company’s founding figure Ignaz Pleyel, a former pupil of Haydn, was one of the most acclaimed composers of the late 18th century. The success of Pleyel’s finely wrought twelve String Quintets, the three of which heard on this album inspired Mozart to compose his own quintets in C major and G minor, lies in their well-paced balance between crackling energy and lyrical expansiveness. These highly accomplished works are sprightly, good humoured and filled with such an intrinsic lightness and grace that they are guaranteed to delight as much now as they did centuries ago.
I. Moderato
The Pettman Ensemble is a flexible touring group of musicians from New Zealand and Australia dedicated to performing chamber music from early classical repertoire to the music of today. Its core members are Michael Endres (piano), Uwe Grodd (flute), Curt Thompson (violin) and Edith Salzmann (cello). New Zealand’s and Australia’s most talented young artists join the ensemble periodically to perform music for larger groups at festivals and in concerts; specific to this recording are violinist Oksana Murashova Thompson and violists Wenhong Luo and William Vyvyan Murray.
– American Record Guide
Violin Concerto in D
Perry • Chiang • Lippi
Baltimore Chamber Orchestra
Thakar
– Audiophile Audition ★★★★★
– Gramophone
Ensō Quartet
– Fanfare
Ensō Quartet
– ClassicsToday.com