Gabriel Faure: Piano Quartets Nos. 1 and 2 / Nocturne No. 4 Kathryn Stott & The Hermitage String Trio

• Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924): Piano Quartet No. 1, Op. 15 (1876-79, revised 1883):
• 1I. Allegro molto moderato09:09
• 2II. Scherzo: Allegro vivo05:14
• 3III. Adagio06:41
• 4IV. Allegro molto07:43
• Piano Quartet No. 2, Op. 45 (?1884-86):
• 5I. Allegro molto moderato10:48
• 6II. Allegro molto03:25
• 7III. Adagio non troppo11:18
• 8IV. Adagio molto08:28
• Nocturne No. 4, Op. 36 (1884):
• 9Nocturne No. 4 in E flat major, Op. 3608:15
• Total Runtime01:11:01

Info for Gabriel Faure: Piano Quartets Nos. 1 and 2 / Nocturne No. 4

Kathryn Stott has long wished to record Fauré’s hauntingly beautiful two piano quartets, but was looking for the right ensemble. She has found that in the form of the Hermitage String Trio, a group she has toured with on a number of occasions. The Strad recently wrote of the grounp, 'This ensemble will do much to put more string trio repertory on the musical map' The quartets are presented with the solo piano work, Nocturne No.4; a unique combination and fresh interpretations, recorded in warm Chandos sound.

“Stott and the Heritage Trio imbue the hushed sections with a sense of eerie menace, refusing to smooth the edges, which is certainly not to say they are rough and ready elsewhere...the exquisite account by Stott of the fourth Nocturne is the icing on the cake.” (BBC Music Magazine)

Fauré: Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor Op. 15
with The Hermitage String Trio
Piano Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 45
with The Hermitage String Trio
Nocturne No. 4 in E flat major Op. 36

Kathryn Stott, Piano
The Hermitage String Trio
Boris Garlitsky, Violin
Alexander Zemtsov, Viola
Leonid Gorokhov, Cello

Gabriel Faure: Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 15
I. Allegro molto moderato
II. Scherzo: Allegro vivo
III. Adagio
IV. Allegro molto
Gabriel Faure: Piano Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 45
I. Allegro molto moderato
II. Allegro molto
III. Adagio non troppo
IV. Adagio molto - Più mosso
Gabriel Faure: Nocturne No. 4 in E flat major, Op. 36
Nocturne No. 4 in E flat major, Op. 36

Following an invitation from Saint-Saëns, Fauré joined the Société Nationale de Musique in 1871. Here he became acquainted with Franck, D’Indy, Bizet and other prominent French musicians. The Society set itself the mission of promoting French music and offering a forum for the circulation of orchestral and chamber works. The Society was to have a great influence on Fauré. In an interview in 1922, he spoke “The truth is that, before 1870, I would not have dreamt of composing a sonata or quartet. Only when Saint- Saëns founded the Société did I set about doing so.” And in fact almost all Fauré's chamber works had their premieres under the auspices of the Société Nationale de Musique

Kathryn Stott is an internationally acknowledged interpreter of Fauré’s piano music. BBC Music Magazine recently wrote, ‘Kathryn Stott reinforces her position as one of the finest Fauré interpreters of her generation’. She has also been behind several major festivals and concert series. For her involvement in ‘Fauré and the French Connection’ she was appointed Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French government.

Kathryn Stott is recognised internationally as one of Britain’s most versatile and imaginative musicians and among today's most engaging pianists. She is in demand for a wide variety of chamber music alliances, playing with some of the world’s leading instrumentalists, as well as appearing on major international concert platforms in recitals and concerto performances. She has also directed several distinctive concert series and festivals and has developed an extensive and exceptionally varied catalogue of recordings. Born in Lancashire, she studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal College of Music and was a prize-winner at the Leeds International Piano Competition 1978. In addition to her busy career as a performer worldwide, she is visiting professor at both the Royal Academy of Music, London and Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester.

She enjoys associations with many orchestras and is a favoured partner of many distinguished chamber musicians, This season she celebrates a fruitful quarter-of-a-century partnership with Yo-Yo Ma, in concerts, on tours and on recordings. She has developed shared musical interests with an eclectic group of performers and has a close involvement with many leading string quartets. She has made nearly a dozen appearances at the BBC Proms to which she returns next summer.

A particular interest in contemporary music has led to several world premieres. She is a remarkable exponent of tango and other Latin dance music, reflected in her collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma and leading South American musicians on the Grammy Award-winning Sony CD ‘Soul of the Tango’ and its successor ‘Obrigado Brazil’. In the recording studio she has created a large and eclectic body of work including concertos and solo repertoire on a wide variety of labels including many discs of solo pieces; chamber music CDs with Yo-Yo Ma, Truls Mørk, Christian Poltéra, the Hermitage Piano Trio and, most recently, with cellist Guy Johnston, (‘Milo’/Orchid Classics). In 2009 she was signed as an exclusive Chandos artist for all her solo piano work. Current and forthcoming recordings include three discs with the Doric String Quartet.

Kathryn Stott has been the artistic vision behind several major festivals and concert series. ‘Piano 2000’ and ‘Piano 2003’ ( Bridgewater Hall, Manchester) established her reputation as an astute programmer; and following the earlier ‘Fauré and the French Connection’ she was appointed Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French Government. In 2008 she was appointed Artistic Director of the Manchester Chamber Concerts Society. She is Guest Artistic Director, 2010 and 2011, of the chamber festival, Incontri in Terra di Siena. Current and future plans include tours of the United States and Japan with Yo-Yo Ma, and a tour of the USA with the Assad Brothers, while her busy schedule takes her to a range of international flagship festivals including Este (Italy), Storioni (Holland), Vinterfest (Sweden), Oxford, Hardanger and Risør (both Norway) and Kharkov (Ukraine) as well as Salzburg.

This album contains no booklet.