In a market crowded with recordings of Schubert's Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667, "Trout," this 2003 release from Camerata is likely to face tough scrutiny. It may appeal to listeners who appreciate light textures, brisk tempi, and unsentimental playing, but others may find this performance too efficiently executed and lacking warmth and depth. Pianist
Jasminka Stancul, violinist
Werner Hink, violist Hans Peter Ochsenhofer, cellist Fritz Dolezal, and bassist Michael Bladerer deliver a bright reading that moves along jauntily, and the mood is cheerful throughout. Yet one may sense a degree of aloofness and distance, if not exactly coldness. This may partly be due to the ensemble's businesslike playing, but it may also be attributable to wide placement of the microphones in the highly reverberant studio, which makes the players seem too far away. The tone in the String Trio No. 1 in B flat major, D. 471, is warmer and more immediate; though the acoustic is still resonant, it is not as distracting as it is in the quintet. The fragment of the String Trio in B flat major, D. 111a, and the Ländler (8) in F sharp minor, D. 355, may hold interest for Schubert specialists, but most listeners will find these tracks unessential filler.