Metamorphosen / Piano Quartet

'The music's autumnal soulfulness suits the Nash Ensemble's house style to near-perfection... The same classy artistry shines through their performances of the string sextet prelude to Strauss's last opera Capriccio, and of the much earlier Piano Quintet - Brahms and Schumann-influenced and very attractive'
(Classic FM Magazine)

DAILY TELEGRAPH CD OF THE WEEK

'Reducing the string size of Strauss's Metamorphosen from 23 to the seven of the composer's short score … might seem to be going light on the tragic force of this great wartime elegy. Not so in the hands of the Nash Ensemble. If anything Strauss's most private moments of grief have even more eloquence … The recap almost breaks the heart in its restored purity of expression [Prelude to Capriccio] … Truthful recording does full justice to the warmth, poise and integration of these marvellous performances'
(BBC Music Magazine)

Completed in 1945, Metamorphosen can be regarded as Richard Strauss's reaction against the wartime destruction of German culture and heritage, and is a work at once angry, poignant and intensely beautiful. Presented with the early Piano Quartet and Prelude to Capriccio, these works are given a typically vigorous performance by Britain's best-loved chamber ensemble.