# Trout quintet what's all the fuss?



## juliante

Tea time music for genteel old ladies isn't it? :devil:


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## Dan Ante

If you say so, why Ladies are you sexist??


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## Ingélou

juliante said:


> Tea time music for genteel old ladies isn't it? :devil:


Speaking as a genteel old lady, it isn't my cup of tea. But then I'm a Baby Boomer and my gentility may have been compromised. My granny, a _Victorian_ genteel old lady, loved it, and she was much more musical than I.

Both Granny and I would have agreed, though, that the OP is not quite comme il faut.

There must be plenty of people of all sorts who love the Trout Quintet - I know of one TC-er for certain, who is male and a bit of a roustabout, who does. I look forward to reading an interesting and reasonable description of why such a Trout-lover enjoys the music.

Live and let live - even those who stereotype genteel old ladies. :devil:


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## Rogerx

juliante said:


> Tea time music for genteel old ladies isn't it? :devil:


No......................................


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## Bulldog

The Trout is a very pleasant and stabilizing work, maybe too pleasant.


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## elgar's ghost

Whatever the images it conjures up it's not exactly a shabby piece of work for a 22 year-old, is it?


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## mmsbls

In the voting of TC members who participated in The TC Top 50 Recommended Piano Chamber Works the Trout Quintet was the top work. So apparently it's not just for old ladies, genteel or not, and not just for tea time.


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## jegreenwood

It’s music for a summer evening sitting on the lawn with friends and a bottle of wine (or some weed).


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## Handelian

Always a favourite with me. Sorry it offends you by making pleasant listening.


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## Barbebleu

It’s Schubert at his inventive and musical best. What’s not to like, unless, of course, you don’t particularly like Schubert!


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## SanAntone

Not exactly genteel ....

*Schubert: Trout Quintet* 
Sviatoslav Richter, Borodin Quartet

View attachment 148585


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## Allegro Con Brio

One of the earliest works of classical music that I fell in love with, and still one of my all-time favorite chamber works. Maybe not as “deep” or “profound” as the string quintet, late sonatas, and song cycles, and I may even have a slight preference for Schubert’s piano trios. But I still love to hear it, especially in the Curzon/Vienna Octet recording, which sounds like they’re making it up as they go along. If you want more “masculine” try Gilels/Amadeus. There are certain moments in the work that leave me on the verge of tears with their pure, innocent beauty.


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## Merl

Not my favourite chamber work by a long chalk but hardly little old lady music. Incidentally, when I hear the term 'Little Old Lady' I always think of a famous 70s / 80s animation that I particularly loved...


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## Judith

I love this Quintet. Was used for a music course that I studied recently


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## Mandryka

juliante said:


> Tea time music for genteel old ladies isn't it? :devil:


Yes a lot of c19 chamber music has that Palm Court Orchestra feel, Brahms, Dvorak, Schubert can be played like that. You need to find a performance which is imaginative and bold enough to break out of that. Tetzlaff/Helmchen maybe. Or Borodin/Richter as San Antone said.


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## Olias

juliante said:


> Tea time music for genteel old ladies isn't it? :devil:


You're thinking of Pachelbel...


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## Ich muss Caligari werden

It was, in fact, used as theme music in "Waiting for God" a British situation comedy that takes place in a nursing home...:lol: To me, it's simply wonderful music, very _cantabile_ as most of Schubert is. It is a masterpiece of construction. Maybe this will help you:


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## Joachim Raff

Merl said:


> Not my favourite chamber work by a long chalk but hardly little old lady music. Incidentally, when I hear the term 'Little Old Lady' I always think of a famous 70s / 80s animation that I particularly loved...
> 
> View attachment 148598


Chorlton agrees with Merl. Nice to here some little old lady music though. I think Richard Strauss or Wagner is off the menu though.


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## Jacck

even Moriarty loved die Forelle


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## jegreenwood

Ich muss Caligari werden said:


> It was, in fact, used as theme music in "Waiting for God" a British situation comedy that takes place in a nursing home...:lol: To me, it's simply wonderful music, very _cantabile_ as most of Schubert is. It is a masterpiece of construction. Maybe this will help you:


Or this:


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## Malx

Trout Quintet + Occasional Poster = Fishing Trip


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## Phineas

I actually agree to some extent. I don't dislike the Trout, but it has never really stood out for me, so I wonder why it is so popular. However, I do recommend the 1970 film called The Trout, a making of and performance doc featuring a real dream team of ultra famous classical musicians when they were young. 

I am quite into Schubert, so that's not why I'm ambivalent about the Trout. My favorite Schubert pieces are Death and the Maiden, String Quartet no. 14, and the Fantasia in Fm for 4 hands Piano D940, Piano Sonata no. 16 D845 and the D946 sonatas. These works are all a lot less "tea time" than the Trout - way more stormy, like Beethoven. 

I also have huge complete collections of his solo piano stuff and like most of it, as well as the trios and all the later quartets. Schubert seems to always have good melodies, but some of his works drift more towards the Mozart/Haydn pleasant end of the classical period scale than the Beethoven pound your skull end.


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## jegreenwood

Phineas said:


> I actually agree to some extent. I don't dislike the Trout, but it has never really stood out for me, so I wonder why it is so popular. *However, I do recommend the 1970 film called The Trout, a making of and performance doc featuring a real dream team of ultra famous classical musicians when they were young. *
> 
> I am quite into Schubert, so that's not why I'm ambivalent about the Trout. My favorite Schubert pieces are Death and the Maiden, String Quartet no. 14, and the Fantasia in Fm for 4 hands Piano D940, Piano Sonata no. 16 D845 and the D946 sonatas. These works are all a lot less "tea time" than the Trout - way more stormy, like Beethoven.
> 
> I also have huge complete collections of his solo piano stuff and like most of it, as well as the trios and all the later quartets. Schubert seems to always have good melodies, but some of his works drift more towards the Mozart/Haydn pleasant end of the classical period scale than the Beethoven pound your skull end.


See my post above for a link to the entire film.


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## juliante

Malx said:


> Trout Quintet + Occasional Poster = Fishing Trip


Fair cop but it was genuine post and the devil emoticon was signalling the provocative nature of the post...(it was a quote from a Mozart related post here a few years ago). Anyway, I am genuinely interested in why it is so loved and regarded - because whilst i love schubert, i just cannot engage with this piece.


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## Malx

juliante said:


> Fair cop but it was genuine post and the devil emoticon was signalling the provocative nature of the post...(it was a quote from a Mozart related post here a few years ago). Anyway, I am genuinely interested in why it is so loved and regarded - because whilst i love schubert, i just cannot engage with this piece.


Its fair enough to ask any question you like and you will get a multitude of answers - my 'equation' was meant to be tongue in cheek as I'm sure you will have realised.
For the record I enjoy the Trout Quintet but don't regard it as being any better than a lot of Schubert's other compositions.


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## Roger Knox

At the summer programs for music students I went to there was usually a double bass player with the Trout Quintet parts, making the rounds to put a Quintet together. I like the Trout and think the bass contributes a little sunny rustic humour to this good-natured work. And audiences love the gentle giant in its "underdog" role.

There aren't a lot of standard repertoire chamber works that include the double bass. The Dvorak and Prokofiev String Quintets with double bass are two others. The Schubert and Dvorak Octets have the double bass, but in a quasi-chamber-orchestra mode that I find less interesting.


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## Dan Ante

Roger Knox said:


> At the summer programs for music students I went to there was usually a double bass player with the Trout Quintet parts, making the rounds to put a Quintet together. I like the Trout and think the bass contributes a little sunny rustic humour to this good-natured work. And audiences love the gentle giant in its "underdog" role.
> 
> There aren't a lot of standard repertoire chamber works that include the double bass. The Dvorak and Prokofiev String Quintets with double bass are two others. The Schubert and Dvorak Octets have the double bass, but in a quasi-chamber-orchestra mode that I find less interesting.


I agree with you, why is it that some people seem to think that real music lovers would appear childish and un cool to say they like a classical composition that is very popular with Alf Average ?


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## Kreisler jr

It is a charming and entertaining piece. Nothing wrong with it. It doesn't try to be deep or complex music. What I find a bit unfortunate is that it seems 's often recommended for beginners who then d not advance to less obviously charming chamber music although the step to one of the trios or beethoven's archduke trio or brahms op.8 seems rather small.


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## Enthusiast

It is a fine piece, a constant delight. I have nothing against little old ladies, either. I am not sure what they listen to but if it is Schubert then I suspect they will have a long history of listening to (and perhaps playing or writing about) classical music.


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## Parley

I cannot for the life of me see what anyone could Brecht to in this splendid work which includes the double bass. A great introduction to classical music for anyone.


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## jegreenwood

Kreisler jr said:


> It is a charming and entertaining piece. Nothing wrong with it. It doesn't try to be deep or complex music. What I find a bit unfortunate is that it seems 's often recommended for beginners who then d not advance to less obviously charming chamber music although the step to one of the trios or beethoven's archduke trio or brahms op.8 seems rather small.











Best one disc introduction to chamber music that I can think of. (Thinking of the pairing more than the recording, but I like both performances.)


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## RICK RIEKERT

It is a charming and entertaining piece...and a useful laundry aid.


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## SearsPoncho

The first or second chamber recording I purchased was a cassette tape featuring Schubert's "Trout" with the "Death and the Maiden" Quartet. It was a great yin/yang purchase because I got the genial, sunny, lyrical Trout and the dark, urgent intensity of the Death Quartet.


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## littlejohnuk1

I'm getting into this recording.


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## Rogerx

littlejohnuk1 said:


> I'm getting into this recording.
> 
> View attachment 181164


These Pentatone having superb sound.


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## Waehnen

When it comes to Schubert I love the late piano sonatas and string quartets and the string (cello) quintet but for some reason I find the Trout rather boring and the two great piano trios a bit too long and repetitive.

When I think of the trios, the melody played by the piano repetition comes to mind. Takataka-takataka-takataka-takatala… All over again… And again… 

😀


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## FastkeinBrahms

1


Waehnen said:


> When it comes to Schubert I love the late piano sonatas and string quartets and the string (cello) quintet but for some reason I find the Trout rather boring and the two great piano trios a bit too long and repetitive.
> 
> When I think of the trios, the melody played by the piano repetition comes to mind. Takataka-takataka-takataka-takatala… All over again… And again…
> 
> 😀


I tend to agree, with the exception of the second piano trio in E-flat, which I find as moving as the other late works such as the late piano sonata, the C Major string quintet et al. With the Trout, I just can't stay focused on the music. Love the lied, however.


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## Kreisler jr

Repetitiveness is a feature in (late) Schubert, not a bug, I tend to find it worse in some of the piano sonatas than the trios (although I find the reconstruction of the E flat trio with an almost 20 min. finale a bit too much).
The "Trout" is a rather lightweight piece but I'd still consider it the first fully mature instrumental Schubert piece, together with the sonata D 664.


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## Waehnen

Kreisler jr said:


> Repetitiveness is a feature in (late) Schubert, not a bug, I tend to find it worse in some of the piano sonatas than the trios (although I find the reconstruction of the E flat trio with an almost 20 min. finale a bit too much).
> The "Trout" is a rather lightweight piece but I'd still consider it the first fully mature instrumental Schubert piece, together with the sonata D 664.


Sometimes I am happy to just describe my experiences without too much heavy-weight thinking. Not everything I experience is all that deep or thought-out.

In fact I find the Trout quite enjoyable, also the Schubert Trios -- it is just that I am drawn to some other quintets and trios more than to these, I suppose.

The Trout quintet and one quintet by Dvorak are btw the 2 works which convinced me NOT to have the double bass on my chamber works. Although I have a double bass myself. I think I need to get myself a cello. Been considering it for a few years already.


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