The Quatuor Ebène was invited by legendary pianist Menahem Pressler to join him in celebrating his 90th birthday at a concert at the Salle Pleyel in Paris in November 2013. Their programme included two of the most life-affirming works in the chamber repertoire - Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A major and Schubert’s ‘Trout’ Quintet, which form the CD version of this release.

Additional items on the DVD version include the mesmerising encore – the Quatuor Ebène in the slow movement of Debussy’s quartet, with Pressler joining them on stage as a silent, but physically responsive partner. No wonder the 1800-strong audience burst into a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’.

90 years old, and still performing superbly as a soloist and chamber musician, pianist Menahem Pressler is a phenomenon – as the members of the Quatuor Ebène delightedly acknowledged at this celebratory concert at Paris’s Salle Pleyel on November 7th 2013. Recordings made at the concert, which also brought contributions from the double-bassist Benjamin Berlioz and the tenor Christoph Prégardien, are here released on both CD and DVD.

Contents:
CD
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK
- Piano Quintet in A major Op.81
Menahem Pressler (piano), Quatuor Ebène

FRANZ SCHUBERT
- Piano Quintet in A major "The Trout” D.667
Menahem Pressler (piano), Gabriel Le Magadure (violin), Mathieu Herzog (viola), Raphaël Merlin (cello), Benjamin Berlioz (double-bass)

CLAUDE DEBUSSY
- String Quartet in G minor Op.10
III. Andantino, doucement expressif
Quatuor Ebène

DVD
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK
- Piano Quintet in A major Op.81
Menahem Pressler (piano), Quatuor Ebène

FRANZ SCHUBERT
- Winterreise D. 911
No.5: Der Lindenbaum
No.11: Frühlingstraum
No.15: Die Krähe
No.24: Der Leiermann
- Die Forelle D.550
Menahem Pressler (piano), Christoph Prégardien (tenor)

FRANZ SCHUBERT
- Piano Quintet in A major "The Trout” D.667
Menahem Pressler (piano), Gabriel Le Magadure (violin), Mathieu Herzog (viola), Raphaël Merlin (cello), Benjamin Berlioz (double-bass)

CLAUDE DEBUSSY
- String Quartet in G minor Op.10
III. Andantino, doucement expressif
Quatuor Ebène

FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN
- Nocturne in C sharp minor, Opus posth.
Menahem Pressler (piano)

Sound/Video

Paused

1

Dvorak - Piano Quintet op.81 - I. Allegro, ma non tanto
2

Dvorak - Piano Quintet op.81 - II. Dumka: Andante con moto
3

Dvorak - Piano Quintet op.81 - III. Scherzo (Furiant): molto vivace
4

Dvorak - Piano Quintet op.81 - IV. Finale: Allegro
5

Schubert - 'Trout' Quintet - I. Allegro vivace
6

Schubert - 'Trout' Quintet - II. Andante
7

Schubert - 'Trout' Quintet - III. Scherzo: Presto
8

Schubert - 'Trout' Quintet - IV. Andantino - Allegretto
9

Schubert - 'Trout' Quintet - V. Allegro giusto

Europadisc Review

Few 90-year-olds can have celebrated their birthday in quite such style as pianist Menahem Pressler. In 2013 he gave several world-class concerts to mark this milestone, and the affection with which they were received reflects his standing as one of the outstanding chamber musicians of our time.

Born on 16 December 1923 in Magdeburg, Germany, in 1939 he fled the Nazis, settling in Palestine and then, after the war, in the United States. His teachers included the renowned Busoni disciples Leo Kerstenberg, Eduard Steuermann and Egon Petri, and as a soloist he performed under such conductors as Dimitri Mitropoulos, George Szell and Eugene Ormandy. In 1946 he was awarded first prize in the Debussy International Piano Competition at San Francisco, where the jury was presided over by Darius Milhaud.

A decisive turning point came in 1955 when, together with violinist Daniel Guillet and cellist Bernard Greenhouse, he formed the Beaux Arts Trio, which quickly became one of the world's leading chamber groups. With Isidore Cohen replacing Guillet in 1968, the Beaux Arts Trio soon set down almost the entire corpus of the piano trio repertoire for Philips, bringing such masterpieces as Schubert's trios to wider audiences for the first time. When the ensemble eventually disbanded in 2008 after several further changes of personnel, Pressler was the only remaining member of the original line-up, a remarkable achievement in itself.

Despite his advancing age, Pressler has in recent years been as much in demand as soloist, accompanist and chamber musician as ever, not least in the Viennese classics with which he and the Beaux Arts were so closely identified. The affection in which he is held owes almost as much to his lifelong activities as a teacher: he has taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music for nearly sixty years.

The celebrations surrounding Menahem Pressler's ninetieth birthday were particularly warm in Paris. A concert of Mozart piano concertos with Paavo Järvi and the Orchestre de Paris has already been released on DVD and Blu-ray by Euroarts (see here). And now the Erato label gives us a concert recorded live on 7 November 2013 in which Pressler joined forces with the young Quatuor Ebène for two glorious A major works: Dvořák's second Piano Quintet, and Schubert's 'Trout' Quintet (the latter with double-bassist Benjamin Berlioz).

There's a palpable sense of occasion at Paris's Salle Pleyel, the Dvořák spirited and impassioned, the Schubert beautifully poised and big of heart, with Pressler matching the youthful vigour of his colleagues. Even better is the accompanying DVD, which includes not only the Dvořák and Schubert quintets in full, but also most of the items from the rest of the concert: a group of songs from Schubert's Winterreise performed with enormous sensitivity by Pressler and tenor Christoph Prégardien, as well as Die Forelle, which serves as the basis for the variation movement of the 'Trout' Quintet. It's a real joy to watch Pressler, ever attentive to the phrasing of his younger colleagues, a lifetime's experience resulting in music-making that's as natural as breathing.

The Quatuor Ebène pay their own tribute with the slow movement of Debussy's String Quartet, Pressler listening benignly, but it's appropriate that the pianist himself should have the last word, with a loving account of Chopin's posthumously published C sharp minor Nocturne. And all issued just in time for his 91st birthday!