The Brodsky Quartet started young and, with a couple of changes of leader during their lifetime, celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2012. Great musical ambassadors, they excel in a wide range of repertoire, and this performance of the Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor Op 34, with the Ukrainian pianist Natacha Kudritskaya, is big-boned, impassioned and, especially in the Andante, warm and lyrical. The String Quartet in C minor Op 51 No 1 works less well: the first violin’s conspicuous portamento won’t suit all tastes and the whole performance, with some uneven tuning, sounds rough at the edges. Luckily Brahms can withstand a robust approach.
