Déjà Review: this review was first published in February 2009 and the recording is still available.

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Quintet for Piano and Strings in A major, D 667/Op. 114 “Trout” (1819)
Adagio and Rondo Concertante for Piano and Strings in F major, D 487 (1816)
Peter Rösel (piano), Karl Suske (violin), Dietmar Hallmann (viola), Jürnjakob Timm (cello), Rainer Hucke (double bass)
rec. 1987 (?), Berlin, Germany
Berlin Classics 0014392BC [49]

This Trout has a pretty individual sound. It is very intimate yet with the piano at times appearing to be set back in the audio picture. The whole feel of what you hear is honeyed both as an audio image and in the interpretative decisions taken by the players. This does not mean that the players dawdle or that this is saccharine-sweet. On the contrary this is sprightly and dignified music-making. That also applies to the Andante and the Thema mit Variationem as well as the other three movements.

Rösel – a pupil of Lev Oborin – is a strong personality surrounded by far from self-effacing players. His precise yet liquid trills in the famous fourth movement – the most classical of the five – testify to this. One feels the chamber-cooperative approach but one also senses the tension that comes from the individuality of these seasoned players.

Rösel (b. 1945, Dresden) is or should be well known not least for his Rachmaninov concertos. However he recorded very extensively initially during the days of the DDR. You may also recall his name as the pianist in Kempe’s EMI Richard Strauss cycle. Karl Suske is in the same category. Born in Liberec in 1934, he is a much-revered teacher having been a professor at Weimar College 1975-1987. He founded the too-often overlooked Suske Quartet in 1965. Their recordings of Mozart and Beethoven should always be in the catalogue as should Suske’s recordings of the Beethoven violin sonatas with Walter Olbertz. Time all of these were reviewed here.

This is a very satisfying, centred, gracious and life-enhancing Trout Quintet. Sample the start of the final movement if you need a clear indicator. There is a substantial bonus in the shape of the similarly serene Adagio and Rondo Concertante. By the way for those allergic to such things there are no intakes of breath or other sounds to distract. This marks it out from many a celebrity competition.

The only date on the package is 1987. All in all it’s a very pleasing disc at bargain basement price and with absolutely no annotation at all.

Rob Barnett 

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