Sense of Purpose

The Schubert Ensemble has been one of the UK's most distinguished chamber groups for some thirty years or so, not least for combining familiar repertoire with explorations off the beaten track. Three of Schumann's Studies for pedal piano, Op 56, in transcriptions for piano quartet, made an imaginative choice of opener for their Buxton Festival appearance (Pavilion Arts Centre, Buxton, UK, 12 July 2015), Nos 3 and 5 arranged by David Matthews, No 4 by Orlando Jopling. In spite of the severely functional title and rigorously canonic structure, they are engagingly expressive pieces, full of lyrical charm and, in No 5, spiky staccato energy, all well characterised in this performance...