{"id":8122,"date":"2018-07-31T21:13:59","date_gmt":"2018-07-31T20:13:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/?post_type=product&p=8122"},"modified":"2021-10-23T10:05:38","modified_gmt":"2021-10-23T09:05:38","slug":"cd-brahms-piano-quartet-no-2-in-a-major-orchestrated-and-conducted-by-kenneth-woods-nimbus","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/product\/cd-brahms-piano-quartet-no-2-in-a-major-orchestrated-and-conducted-by-kenneth-woods-nimbus\/","title":{"rendered":"CD: Brahms- Piano Quartet no. 2 in A major orchestrated and conducted by Kenneth Woods (Nimbus)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Conceived in a moment of sudden inspiration while teaching in Italy, Kenneth Woods\u2019 orchestration of Brahms\u2019 most expansive chamber work is the product of a life-long immersion in the music of this great composer as both cellist and conductor. This is a work of symphonic scope, realised here as an orchestral score that fully inhabits the soundworld of its composer as a work worthy of sitting along side his four numbered symphonies.<\/p>\n

One of The Arts Desk’s Ten Best Classical CDs of 2018<\/a>: “Kenneth Woods\u2019s idiomatic orchestration of Brahms\u2019s Piano Quartet No. 2 (Nimbus) proved a must-hear, a useful corrective to Schoenberg\u2019s OTT transcription of the G minor quartet.” Graham Rickson<\/h3>\n

\u201cHopefully this new addition to the Brahms symphonic canon will get the widespread dissemination it certainly deserves\u2026\u00a0Kenneth Woods has grasped this nettle and produced an absolutely imaginative arrangement.\u201d Erik Levi, BBC Music Magazine<\/a><\/p>\n

“By the time the work concludes, one has forgotten that the composer intended the music for a quartet. In essence, Woods has created a new Brahms Fifth Symphony.” John J. Puccio, Classical Candor<\/a><\/p>\n

“Woods\u2019 versatile English Symphony Orchestra respond with energy and warmth, and it’s fun to compare their rich sound with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra on Robin Ticciati’s recent set of the symphonies. This quartet is an early, extrovert piece and Woods taps into the music\u2019s unbuttoned joy. The first movement\u2019s close is a case in point, a cheery, affirmative musical hug, pitched to perfection in this performance. Depths are plumbed in Brahms’s \u201cPoco Adagio\u201d, and the scherzo\u2019s ingenuity shines through. And while the G minor quartet finishes with a blaze of nihilistic fury, this one ends in a blaze of brassy sunlight. All fascinating \u2013 a labour of love, handsomely recorded with decent notes…. He’s effectively given us an additional Brahms symphony.” Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n