Two exceptionally fine performances here: Yakov Kasman can be a wild player, but in Shostakovich's Quintet he is as persuasive in passages of dark introspection as in the clamorous rhetoric that comes so naturally to him. The Talich Quartet are equal partners in a multi-faceted reading of a work whose full expressive range is rarely so convincingly.

45 minutes is very short measure, but the standard of performance is outstanding.     

SHOSTAKOVICH, Piano quintet in G minor, op.57 (Scherzo)

Creativity is not something that can be turned on and off like a tap . . . 
Art is a labour of love, a question of patience and concentration. To place demands on it, criteria, quotas, damages it, slowly kills it. Art, like nature, must be allowed to develop and to grow, in order to attain plenitude. Following this principle, La Dolce Volta prefers to privilege quality over quantity. Releases are limited to ten albums a year, but each of them is the fruit of in-depth work, and above all a special relationship between the soloist and the composer. The artists’ virtuosity is coupled with their ineffable and highly personal approach, a feeling that can only be expressed through music. 
And since jewels worthy of the name can only be offered in special cases, the albums La Dolce Volta releases are themselves works of art: each record cover is an original work of art; the digipack’s inner sleeve includes a booklet in four languages and an interview with the musician. A bandeau is wrapped around each album, on which is printed the name of the soloist, the name of the composer, and the work performed. 
For La Dolce Volta, music is not just a shrink-wrapped object for sale. Like all beautiful things in life, it must come to fruition naturally, the result of careful craftsmanship, and offered like an exquisite flower. 
For La Dolce Volta music is a question of elegance and beauty without concessions.

SHOSTAKOVICH, Piano quintet in G minor, op.57 (Scherzo)

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