Schumann: Piano Quintet, Op. 44 / Piano Quartet, Op. 47 Nils Anders Mortensen & Engegård Quartet

• Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856): Piano Quintet, Op. 44:
• 1Piano Quintet, Op. 44: I. Allegro brillante08:42
• 2Piano Quintet, Op. 44: II. In modo d'una Marcia. Un poco largamente07:42
• 3Piano Quintet, Op. 44: III. Scherzo. Molto vivace04:56
• 4Piano Quintet, Op. 44: IV. Finale. Allegro, ma non troppo07:10
• Piano Quartet, Op. 47:
• 5Piano Quartet, Op. 47: I. Sostenuto assai. Allegro, ma non troppo08:23
• 6Piano Quartet, Op. 47: II. Scherzo. Molto vivace03:25
• 7Piano Quartet, Op. 47: III. Andante cantabile05:45
• 8Piano Quartet, Op. 47: IV. Finale. Vivace07:13
• Total Runtime53:16

Info for Schumann: Piano Quintet, Op. 44 / Piano Quartet, Op. 47

The new release from Nils Anders Mortensen and the Engegård Quartet is devoted to Schumann’s quartet and quintet for piano and strings. Robert Schumann produced a large number of chamber music works in 1842, among them the piano quintet op. 44 and the piano quartet op. 47, both in E flat major. The works were composed at the same time, side by side, and the listener can hear definite similarities in both structure and mood, but also distinct differences.

Both works contain vigorous and expressive outer movements, in which inspiration from Mozart’s vitality and Bach’s counterpoint is combined with Schumann’s own imaginative signature in both dreamy and dramatic sections that follow each other in rapid succession. The scherzos in both works are virtuosic, with sharply contrasting middle sections. But the quintet contains a movement “in modo d’una marcia”, in march style, solemn enough to be a funeral march, and both poetic and fiery in nature. As for the quartet, it has a cantabile movement with an immortal cello melody.

The piano quartet and the piano quintet are cornerstones of the Romantic chamber music literature and contain some of Schumann’s most deeply personal musical moods.

Nils Anders Mortensen, piano
Engegård Quartet

Nils Anders Mortensen
was the recipient of the prestigious "Concerts Norway Debutant of the Year" award for 1996. This in turn led to a recital tour of of Norway and a debut concert in the Great Hall of the University of Oslo. He performed in the USA and Germany after winning the Sicilian IBLA Grand Prize piano competition. In 1998 he won the Mozarteum Prize in Salzburg.Mortensen has appeared as soloist with Norway's leading orchestras. He performed Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra during the tradition-rich, festive closing concert of the 1998 Bergen International Festival. He repeated the performance with the Oslo Philharmonic in 2000. He has played at chamber music festivals in Stavanger, Oslo, Lofoten, and Risør, among others. He recorded the piano concertos of Geirr Tveitt with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. In recent years, Mortensen has made recordings as a chamber musician, exploring the Norwegian repertoire, both new and old. His solo album "Im Freien", with music of Debussy, Grieg, and Bartok, was released in 2012. His recording "Veslemøy Synsk" with Marianne Beate Kielland received a Grammy nomination. He has contributed to many recordings of Norwegian Radio and Television (NRK).Mortensen received the Robert Levin Memorial Prize at the 2004 Bergen International Festival. At the 2006 festival he was soloist for Olav Anton Thommessen's "Glassperlespill", which was performed for the first time in its entirety.Nils Anders Mortensen was born in Flekkefjord in 1971 and began playing piano at age three. In 1986 he won the Norwegian Young Pianist Competition. He studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music, École Normale in Paris, and Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover. His most important teachers have been Einar Steen-Nøkleberg, Tatjana Nikolajeva, and Hans Leygraf.

This album contains no booklet.