Federica Righini and Riccardo Zadra
Brahms – String Quintets in the Composer’s Four-Hand Piano Version
Da Vinci Classics
1. How did you choose the repertoire for your latest CD?
Our choice grew out of the research we have been conducting for some time into nineteenth-century music for piano four hands and, in particular, into transcriptions made by the composers themselves. On our latest CD, Brahms – String Quintets in the Composer’s Four-Hand Piano Version, we recorded String Quintet No. 1 in F major, Op. 88, and String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111, in the versions for piano four hands prepared by Johannes Brahms himself.
We have a deep affection for these two works, which we consider among the great masterpieces of Brahms’s chamber music. For this very reason, we were interested in exploring them through Brahms’s own piano transcriptions. We do not regard these versions as mere reductions intended to replace the strings, but rather as reinterpretations that allow us to gain a deeper understanding of Brahms’s compositional thought.
Since Brahms composed at the piano, performing these transcriptions means, in a sense, returning to the works’ original creative dimension and retracing their compositional process from within. Their transfer to the keyboard makes the harmonic construction, the contrapuntal interplay and the relationship between the different voices particularly perceptible. For us, the challenge was to bring this architecture to the fore without losing the expressive tension, variety of tone colour and chamber-music breadth of the original string versions.
2. What instrument did you use for the recording?
We used a J.B. Streicher grand piano built in Vienna in 1860, belonging to Marco Barletta’s workshop in Chiavari.
The choice of instrument was an integral part of the interpretative project. Brahms had a direct and privileged relationship with Streicher pianos, and this particular instrument possesses qualities especially close to his sound world: a remarkable differentiation between registers, deep yet transparent bass notes, a wide variety of tone colours and a sonority that keeps the individual voices clearly perceptible even in the densest passages.
We therefore regarded it not merely as a historical instrument, but as an essential element of our interpretation. Its characteristics suggested balances, articulations, tempi and approaches to phrasing that would have emerged differently on a modern piano.
3. Where did you make the recording, and how was your experience with the sound engineer?
The recording was made in Chiavari, at Marco Barletta’s workshop. Marco prepared the piano with great expertise and sensitivity, placing at our disposal not only his magnificent Streicher but also his profound knowledge of historical instruments.
His contribution went well beyond caring for the instrument. Thanks to his musical expertise and the friendship we share, he followed our work closely, offering valuable observations and suggestions at various stages that helped us make the most of the Streicher’s expressive possibilities.
From the very beginning, we established a very natural working relationship with the sound engineer, Gabriele Zanetti. His musical sensitivity, willingness to listen and discreet yet fully engaged way of working made us feel completely at ease, allowing us to concentrate on the music without feeling the pressure of the recording process.
Gabriele created an ideal sound recording, one that respects the Streicher’s distinctive character, the differentiation of its registers, the transparency of its voices and the natural quality of its sound, without compromising its identity.
4. Today, thanks to the web, recorded music is heard everywhere: on smartphones, computers and web radio. What does it mean to record a CD for a record label?
Although the CD is no longer the only means through which a recording reaches the public, we remain convinced that recording for a record label continues to have a very specific significance.
Entering a label’s catalogue means placing one’s work within an established editorial and artistic framework, submitting it to a selection process and entrusting it to an organisation capable of ensuring its publication, distribution and long-term availability. For us, recording also means accepting the responsibility of giving a definitive form to an interpretation developed through a long process of study and research.
We are particularly grateful to Da Vinci Classics for embracing this project and for placing its trust in an unconventional proposal based on rarely performed repertoire and the use of a historical piano.
