# Fibich: Quintet, Op. 42



## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

What do you think of the Fibich Quintet?

A year ago I was driving to a summer cottage and on the radio there was interesting music with a strange ensemble. I figured it had to be violin, piano, cello, clarinet and horn. It just happened to be a combination very close to a quintet combination for which I had started to sketch some music -- in my combination in the place of the clarinet was the bass clarinet. I was thrilled by the tone colours. Like a small orchestra.

I bought an album with the quintet the same night. I enjoy the music still.

How do you see this Quintet in comparison to other chamber music repertoire of it´s time and in comparison to other compositions by Fibich?

All I can say is that I hear quality. And I hear familiarity to Dvorak and maybe Brahms. Not so much Smetana.


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## DLOinQUEENS (Nov 22, 2018)

I really like this piece; I feel like the clarinet works really well with the piano in chamber music generally, helping to break up the monotony of a non-stop string attack. To me, though, the scherzo is the real star in this piece. The first and second movements could benefit from better themes, but the scherzo really grabs you with a great piano line and then contrasts it nicely with a mellow horn interlude. The finale meanders a bit too much perhaps, but resolves itself nicely with a beautiful ending theme.


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

DLOinQUEENS said:


> I really like this piece; I feel like the clarinet works really well with the piano in chamber music generally, helping to break up the monotony of a non-stop string attack. To me, though, the scherzo is the real star in this piece. The first and second movements could benefit from better themes, but the scherzo really grabs you with a great piano line and then contrasts it nicely with a mellow horn interlude. The finale meanders a bit too much perhaps, but resolves itself nicely with a beautiful ending theme.


Like you, I do not consider all the material as top quality either. Now that you said it, I pay attention to it. But this music is joyful and meaningful to listen to. Sometimes that is enough for me! Not everything needs to be ground breaking.

Lately I have tried to learn to let more of my expectations go when listening to music, and tried to catch what it is that the composer and the performers try to say -- rather than seeing the fulfilment of my expectations the highest value. Now I realize that I have listened to this Fibich piece without too much analysis. I have just enjoyed it.

So who cares if it is not quite on the same level of Brahms? Not many are!


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

There´s a new performance of the piece!


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## DLOinQUEENS (Nov 22, 2018)

Waehnen said:


> There´s a new performance of the piece!


Oh wow, thank you. I will watch this.

My favorite Fibich chamber piece is the string quartet No. 2. It’s really great.


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

The quintet I feel is among Fibich’s finest chamber works and clearly shows the formative influence and his love of Schubert, especially the scherzo which is borrowed from Fibich's piano sonata written 20 years earlier and seems to echo the allegro vivace of Schubert's Octet and other Schubert's works. As with many of Fibich’s pieces, Schumann is also lurking in the background, especially in the finale. I also enjoy the above mentioned string quartet in G and the seldom performed but richly deserving piano quartet in E minor.


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