Piano Quintet

This recording features the Szymanowski Quartet and pianist Jonathan Plowright playing two important chamber works from 19th-century Poland, in quality equivalent perhaps to Dvorak and Brahms, but completely unknown outside their native country. Zarebski was a virtuoso pianist, more feted during much of his short life as a performer than a composer. However his Piano Quintet is truly a masterpiece, demonstrating an originality and stature that match and even surpass better-known piano quintets by better-known composers. It shows a remarkably fresh ear for symphonic thinking, motivic development and sheer melodic invention. Zelenski was a teacher rather than a performer, ending his distinguished academic career as Director of the Conservatory in his home town of Krakow. His Piano Quartet is a passionate, lyrical work, combining the Romanticism of Mendelssohn and Schumann with a piquant Slavic element.