Piano Quintet (Schumann)
Encyclopedia
The Piano Quintet
in E flat major, Op.
44, by Robert Schumann
was written in 1842. Like most piano quintet
s, it is written for piano
and string quartet
(two violin
s, viola
and cello
).
at all with the exception of an early piano quartet (in 1829). However, during his year-long concentration on the genre he wrote three string quartet
s and a piano quartet
in addition to his popular piano quintet.
Schumann was one of the first significant composers to pair the piano with the string quartet. By 1842, the string quartet was well established as the most important chamber music ensemble, and advances in the design of the piano had expanded its power and dynamic range. In combining these instruments, Schumann's piano quintet took full advantage of the expressive possibilities of string quartet and piano, alternating between conversational passages between the five instruments and more concertante passages in which the combined forces of the strings are massed against the piano.
"In the first happiness of reunion with the piano, his creative imagination took on a new lease of life," writes Joan Chisell.
Schumann's work established the quintet for piano and string quartet as a major Romantic genre. Later works for piano quintet written under its influence include those of Johannes Brahms
, Antonín Dvořák
, César Franck
, Edward Elgar
, and Dmitri Shostakovitch
.
-quick pattern:
, is like a funeral march. Before the faster section of this movement, there is the same sequence of octaves in the piano as in the first movement before the piano solo.
.
, the composer's wife and a noted pianist, premiered the work on 8 January 1843, at the Leipzig Gewandhaus
, and often played the work throughout her life, despite criticism of her performance from her husband late in his life and a statement that only a man could understand it (it is said, though, that Schumann said this in a moment of jealousy, as it is well known that he sometimes had problems with being "Mr. Clara Schumann", husband of the renowned virtuoso). Despite its popularity, Franz Liszt
heard the piece at the Schumanns' home and was distinctly unimpressed by it, dismissing it as being "too Leipzig
erisch", a reference to the conservative musical style of composers from Leipzig, especially Felix Mendelssohn
.
Piano quintet
In European classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly piano, two violins, viola, and cello . Among the most frequently performed piano quintets are those by Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, César Franck, Antonín Dvořák...
in E flat major, Op.
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
44, by Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
was written in 1842. Like most piano quintet
Piano quintet
In European classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly piano, two violins, viola, and cello . Among the most frequently performed piano quintets are those by Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, César Franck, Antonín Dvořák...
s, it is written for piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
(two violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
and cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
).
Background
The work was composed in just a few weeks in September and October 1842, during his "Chamber Music Year." Prior to that year Schumann had completed no chamber musicChamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
at all with the exception of an early piano quartet (in 1829). However, during his year-long concentration on the genre he wrote three string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
s and a piano quartet
Piano Quartet (Schumann)
The Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op. 47, by Robert Schumann was written in 1842. It has been described as the "creative double" of Schumann's Piano Quintet, also in E-flat Major...
in addition to his popular piano quintet.
Schumann was one of the first significant composers to pair the piano with the string quartet. By 1842, the string quartet was well established as the most important chamber music ensemble, and advances in the design of the piano had expanded its power and dynamic range. In combining these instruments, Schumann's piano quintet took full advantage of the expressive possibilities of string quartet and piano, alternating between conversational passages between the five instruments and more concertante passages in which the combined forces of the strings are massed against the piano.
"In the first happiness of reunion with the piano, his creative imagination took on a new lease of life," writes Joan Chisell.
Schumann's work established the quintet for piano and string quartet as a major Romantic genre. Later works for piano quintet written under its influence include those of Johannes Brahms
Piano Quintet (Brahms)
The Piano Quintet in F minor, opus 34, by Johannes Brahms was completed during the summer of 1864. It was dedicated to Her Royal Highness the Princess Anne of Hesse...
, Antonín Dvořák
Piano Quintet No. 2 (Dvorák)
Antonín Dvořák's Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, Op. 81, B. 155, is a quintet for piano, 2 violins, viola, and cello. It was composed between August 18 and October 8 of 1887, and was premiered in Prague on January 6, 1888...
, César Franck
César Franck
César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....
, Edward Elgar
Piano Quintet (Elgar)
The Quintet in A minor for Piano and String Quartet, Op. 84 is a chamber work by Edward Elgar.He worked on the Quintet and two other major chamber pieces in the summer of 1918 while staying at Brinkwells near Fittleworth in Sussex. W. H...
, and Dmitri Shostakovitch
Piano Quintet (Shostakovich)
The Piano Quintet in G Minor, opus 57, by Dmitri Shostakovich is one of his best known chamber works. Like most piano quintets, it is written for piano and string quartet ....
.
Form
The piece is in four movements, in the standard quick-slow-scherzoScherzo
A scherzo is a piece of music, often a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony or a sonata. The scherzo's precise definition has varied over the years, but it often refers to a movement which replaces the minuet as the third movement in a four-movement work, such as a symphony, sonata, or...
-quick pattern:
- Allegro brillante
- In modo d'una marcia. Un poco largamente
- Scherzo: Molto vivace
- Allegro ma non troppo
First Movement: Allegro Brillante
The tempo marking for the first movement is "Allegro brillante". The Italian adjective "brillante" means "glittering" or "sparkling".Second Movement: In modo d'una marcia. Un poco largamente
This movement, in C minorC minor
C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The harmonic minor raises the B to B. Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with naturals and accidentals as necessary.Its key signature consists of three flats...
, is like a funeral march. Before the faster section of this movement, there is the same sequence of octaves in the piano as in the first movement before the piano solo.
Third Movement: Scherzo: Molto vivace
A lively movement built almost entirely on ascending and descending scales. There are two trios. The first trio is a lyrical canon for violin and viola. The second trio is a heavily accented perpetual motion.Finale: Allegro ma non troppo
The finale begins in C minor rather than in the tonic. At the end of the piece, the last movement's main theme is combined with the first movement's main theme in a double fugueFugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
.
Reception
Clara SchumannClara Schumann
Clara Schumann was a German musician and composer, considered one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era...
, the composer's wife and a noted pianist, premiered the work on 8 January 1843, at the Leipzig Gewandhaus
Gewandhaus
Gewandhaus is a concert hall in Leipzig, Germany. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. The first Gewandhaus was built in 1781 by architect Johann Carl Friedrich Dauthe. The second opened on 11 December 1884, and was destroyed in the...
, and often played the work throughout her life, despite criticism of her performance from her husband late in his life and a statement that only a man could understand it (it is said, though, that Schumann said this in a moment of jealousy, as it is well known that he sometimes had problems with being "Mr. Clara Schumann", husband of the renowned virtuoso). Despite its popularity, Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
heard the piece at the Schumanns' home and was distinctly unimpressed by it, dismissing it as being "too Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
erisch", a reference to the conservative musical style of composers from Leipzig, especially Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
.
External links
- Performance of quintet by the Steans Artists of Musicians from Ravinia from the Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner MuseumThe Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
in MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format