Brahms from the New York Quartet

Alexander Schneider, Mieczysław Horszowski, Frank Miller and Milton Katims

The New York Quartet, comprising four of the outstanding instrumentalists of their time, recorded two of Brahms' three Piano Quartets in the late 1940s. I posted the popular Quartet No. 1 back in 2010, and am now belatedly turning my attention to the tragic Quartet No. 3.

A few words about the New York Quartet, from my first post: Violinist Alexander Schneider had been in the Budapest String Quartet, and would be again in 1956. He also made a good number of records as a conductor. Violist Milton Katims, too, would take up conducting, leading the Seattle Symphony for many years. Frank Miller was the principal cellist with the NBC Symphony when this record was made, and later would hold the same position with the Chicago Symphony. He, too, was a conductor. Pianist Mieczysław Horszowski had an extraordinarily long career, playing well into his 90s.

Now about the Brahms quartet - the reviewer in The New Records had this to say: "The present work has never gained great popularity, perhaps because of its dramatic and somber nature. However, it is considered a finely wrought composition and the discerning music lover will surely find it rewarding. The performance in the present instance is excellent and the reproduction is of the best."

In the 1940s, listeners were not spoiled for choice in the classical repertory. The quartet had been released only twice before the Mercury recording out, and neither was available at the time. Today, one online retailer lists 33 different versions for sale.

The recording was made in 1947, and is well-balanced. The ambient stereo remastering has a striking sense of space. Mercury recordings at the time were made with a single microphone which adds to the sense of a live performance. Some reviewers complained that the label's efforts could sound harsh and wiry - a view I agree with - but here all is well.

Also - I've newly remastered my transfer of Piano Quartet No. 1 in ambient stereo. That quartet is a more genial work, with its last movement a "Rondo alla zingarese" that is both exciting and fascinating. The New York Quartet's performance is excellent. The download link for the first quartet is available both via the original post and in the comments to this post.

Brahms with the New York Quartet

This 1949 performance of Brahms' first piano quartet has been a favorite of mine for many years; I have always been particularly fond of the pianism of Mieczysław Horszowski. So a while back I decided to present it here. 

Horszowski, and the starry group he has with him here - Alexander Schneider, Milton Katims and Frank Miller - were the members of the New York Quartet, but are barely identified as such here for some reason. (You also can here them on this blog in a performance of Copland's Piano Quartet, which is approximately contemporaneous with this recording.)

Alexander Schneider, Mieczysław Horszowski, Frank Miller, Milton Katims

Alexander Schneider had been in the Budapest String Quartet, and would be again in 1956. He also made a good number of records as a conductor. Milton Katims, too, would take up conducting, leading the Seattle Symphony for many years. Frank Miller was the principal cellist with the NBC Symphony when this record was made, and later would hold the same position with the Chicago Symphony. He, too, was a conductor. Horszowski had an extraordinarily long career as a pianist, playing well into his 90s.

The cover above is from the second pressing of this LP. The original pressing had one of those brown pebble-grain covers that are supposed to look like a leather book binding and lend the product some class. These look pretty dingy 60 years later, and probably did back then, as well.

Note (August 2023): this LP has now been remastered in ambient stereo.