Bruckner, A.: String Quintet in F Major / String Quartet in

BRUCKNER String Quintet. 1 String Quartet. Intermezzo in d. 1 Rondo in c • Fine Arts Qrt; Gil Sharon (va) 1 • NAXOS 8.570788 (78.50) When the Bruckner revival was in full swing a few decades ago, this writer was never entirely smitten, and to this day I wince when he and Mahler are combined in casual conversation, since the style and quality of their music is so utterly different. Bruckner’s limited chamber music output hasn’t found much of a home in the repertoire of top-tier ensembles, but there is enough to make a cautious judgment, and the latest entry from Naxos might help some to examine this lonely corner of the repertoire. Given my prejudices, I might not be expected to gush over this new disc of Bruckner’s Quintet in F Major and Quartet in C Minor by the Fine Arts Quartet, and I won’t. The performances are quite good and lovingly delivered, but the same qualities I have always considered weaknesses (utterly predictable phrase patterns and melodic sequence