# Need some help please



## whispering (Oct 26, 2013)

Hello

In recent years I have posted a couple of threads and received very helpful replies. I have an interest in piano quintets and received suggestions for some off the beaten track.

For six years I had been caring for my mum who gradually fell under the shadow of Dementia. Listening to music on headphones for an hour each night, after tucking mum up in bed was one of my very few release valves. Regrettably mum died earlier this year. I am still coming to terms with her loss, the need to reinvent myself after a lengthy period of caring, starting to remember how to properly relax and enjoy myself, without feeling guilty. Believe me as a carer the guilt monster is always at your side. Even in the death of your loved one it is hard to free yourself.

Please can you help me again. I have little technical knowledge of classical music, I just love certain pieces and composers. Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, some Elgar and Chopin, then some others like Hummel, Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Field, Pleyel, Stanford and Ries. As I said before I like piano quintets, but also more broadly chamber music. I stumbled onto Debussy and Ravel’s piano trios and found them wonderful and contrasting on the same CD.

Most likely I could now live another 25 years on my own. Reading and classical music are my main interests. I like pieces with melody, but that said I like some punchy pieces like Grieg’s number one SQ or the Franck Violin Sonata. Again can you kindly point me to composers a little off the beaten track. I now have the time to properly pursue this interest, just need some patient help getting started.

It is going to take time to rebuild my life after a long period caring for mum with a terminal illness. I have time on my hands, a desire to search out new joys as yet unknown to me. In particular any suggestions for British composers would be welcome. The Bax piano quintet was a suggestion to my thread sometime ago and much enjoyed. Sorry if my request seems a little vague, but it is hard to define what you presently do not know.


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

I am sorry to hear about your loss and agree that music, such as the rich world of classical music, can be a source of beauty and relief in our lives. Allow me to express my admiration for your care for your mother, it is 100% certain that your presence made her final years better for her.

As regards some lesser known chamber works, maybe venture a bit into Carl Nielsen? The two violin sonatas are fresh and lovely, they reward repeated listening. I've been enjoying the Søe Hansen/Jarlsfeldt recording quite a lot recently, they are coupled with some attractive pieces by Lange-Muller. Nielsen's string quartets are fine too. And maybe, who knows, perhaps explore Nielsen's chamber music for winds?! The Serenata in Vano and the Wind Quintet likewise have a freshness to them, IMHO.

Some other suggestions: maybe chamber works by Lekeu, Pfitzner, Juon or Weinberg/Vainberg. Supposedly you already know Debussy's Cello Sonata, the Trio Sonata, and the Violin Sonata (try Gitlis/Argerich, if possible). 

Whatever you find, happy exploration ...


----------



## Amadea (Apr 15, 2021)

whispering said:


> Again can you kindly point me to composers a little off the beaten track. I now have the time to properly pursue this interest, just need some patient help getting started.


Hi. I am sorry for your loss. I can get you as I've lost my grandma this winter. I don't know many composers, but I've recently discovered Ralph Vaughan Williams and I'm loving him. These are the chamber works I found:

String Quartet in C minor (1898)
Quintet in D major for clarinet, horn, violin, cello, and piano (1898)
Piano Quintet in C minor for violin, viola, cello, double bass and piano (1903)
Scherzo for string quintet (1904)
Nocturne & Scherzo for string quintet (1906)[18]
String Quartet No. 1 in G minor (1908)
Phantasy Quintet for 2 violins, 2 violas, and cello (1912)
Suite de Ballet for flute and piano (1913-24)
Romance and Pastorale for violin and piano (1914)
Romance for viola and piano (undated; possibly 1914)
Six Studies in English Folk Song, for cello (or clarinet, violin, viola) and piano (1926)
Double Trio for string sextet (1938): withdrawn and revised as Partita for Double String Orchestra
Suite for Pipes (1939)
Household Music: Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes for string quartet or other instruments (1941): 1. Fantasia, Crug-y-bar; 2. Scherzo, St. Denio; 3. Variation, Aberystwyth
String Quartet No. 2 in A minor ("For Jean, on her birthday," 1942-44. Dedicated to the violist Jean Stewart[19])
Sonata in A minor for violin and piano (1952)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Ralph_Vaughan_Williams#Chamber


----------



## SearsPoncho (Sep 23, 2020)

My condolences on your loss. Caretakers, such as yourself, are angels. You never get over it, but, after a while, you can breathe again and enjoy life. 

If you like piano quintets and Elgar, you probably are familiar with his excellent contribution to that subgenre. If you don't mind one more instrument, you may well like Chausson's remarkable Concert for Violin, Piano and String Quartet. There's also the Faure Piano Quintets and Frank's great Piano Quintet, which you might be familiar with. There's the Shostakovich Piano Quintet, but it's Shostakovich, and you might desire something more uplifting. I'm sure you're familiar with the classic Brahms and Dvorak piano quintets, but it's always worth returning to them. There's also the well-known Schumann. One piece you probably know is Mozart's Quintet for Winds and Piano - it's not a traditional piano quintet, but it's sheer bliss and heaven, and I'm sure it could buoy your spirits and, hopefully, put a smile on your face. 

These aren't the obscure works you requested, but maybe some of them will provide comfort during this difficult time.


----------

