While he is most celebrated for his mature, pioneering tonal language and grand scope found in the tone poems and operas, Richard Strauss' beginnings closely followed the masters that came before him. In particular, Strauss' early compositional efforts focused on chamber music. Of this youthful output, the Sonata in F major for cello and piano is certainly the most frequently played, while the C minor Piano Quartet is among the least frequently heard. Joining these two chamber contributions on this Praga Digitals album is the F major Capriccio for string sextet. As the instrumentation and ensembles change, so, too, does the quality of performance. The Piano Quartet, performed by pianist Miguel Borges Coelho and members of the Prazák Quartet, is by far the weakest on the disc. Intonation among the high strings is quite careless, often rendering the performance deeply unpleasant to listen to. When on his own, Prazák's cellist Michal Kanka delivers the strongest playing on the album with his collaboration with Coelho for the Cello Sonata. His playing here is vibrant and energetic, a perfect match for Strauss' youthful writing. Intonation is far superior here, and listeners can enjoy a performance that is both technically and musically satisfying. Somewhere in the middle is the Capriccio, wherein members of the Zemlinsky Quartet round out the instrumentation. Here again, intonation is a serious issue, but is not quite as big of a detractor as in the Piano Quartet.
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