Amy Beach - String Quartet; Violin Sonata; Pastorale; Four Sketches

Amy Beach

String Quartet Op.89

Violin Sonata in A Minor Op.34

Pastorale for Woodwind Quintet Op.151

Four Sketches Op.15 No.3

Ambache

The Ambache have recorded two CDs of Beach's chamber music on Chandos; the other includes the Piano Quintet, Flute/SQ, & Trio Amy Beach : Piano Quintet ETC - these works are well performed and the recorded sound is excellent, as expected from this label. The recording under question has undeservedly received a mediocre and a poor rating w/ few comments to justify such a judgment? Both MusicWeb & Classics Today have reviewed this Beach recording (please find those reviews if interested in purchasing this disc) and have been positive w/ some minor reservations from MusicWeb. Bottom line for me is that I would probably rate this 4* - the compositions are not top tier for their times, but are of interest for the Second New England school of composers and the influences (Celtic, Inuit, etc.) Beach incorporated into the works - I'm just adding the extra * to even out the overall rating - would not be fair to customers interested in Beach who might not even want to read about the recording.