The success of Schubert's Trout Quintet, with its unusual line-up featuring a double bass, has never inspired many composers to follow suit. Here Hamburg's Fabergé-Quintett and Japanese pianist Yoko Kikuchi pair two who did. Both were in their 30s, and both decided to eschew the upbeat A major of the Schubert in favour of the darker hues of C minor. Vaughan Williams's quintet pre-dates the composer's mature, folk-influenced style, but it makes effective use of the bass-rich colouring, especially in the probing slow movement. Goetz is regarded as one of German music's great might- have beens (he died just before his 36th birthday), and this well-argued quintet is certainly full of promise. c2hamburg.de