Huber Hans: Piano Quintets 1 & 2

Behind the commonplace name of Hans Huber lies one of the strongest compositional talents that Switzerland produced in the course of the 19th century. Eight symphonies, four piano concertos, five operas as well as oratorios, cantatas and a large number of chamber works belong to the impressive oeuvre of this man, who can be heard in this recording with his relatively late quintets for piano and strings - two conceivably contrasting works that Johannes Brahms would have stroked his beard benevolently upon inspection: The dramatic power of Opus 111 and the capricious playfulness of Opus 125 would probably have reminded him of a twist or two of his own; the independence of the inventions, on the other hand, would have come as a favorable surprise - and he could only have wished for interpreters like those in our recording.