Beloved of the Gods

17/10/2009
Geoff Adams
Otago Daily Times (NZ)

Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 2, Ist es wahr? (“Is it true?”) was central in the winning performance of Australian Tinally Quartet at the Banff International Chamber Music Competition in 2007. Its performance here, beautifully recorded, shows the quality of this youthful group — masterly playing and heartfelt interpretations of music titled with a deep question.

The Mozart half of this fine release is provided by the ebullient Dean Emmerson Dean trio, comprising Paul Dean (clarinet) who was a soloist in Dunedin earlier this year, his brother Brett Dean (viola), and Stephen Emmerson (piano.) They play the ‘Kegelstatt’ Trio, K498 plus Emmerson’s Papamina Suite, a bright trio arrangement of Mozart’s The Magic Flute traversing from arias and duets to orchestral textures  
Highlight: masterpieces of two great composers.