# Your Favorite Piano Quintets



## LvB

Having mentioned Vierne's unfairly ignored piano quintet in Andruini's thread on Vierne, I thought it might be interesting to see what piano quintets people here particularly enjoy. (By piano quintet I mean pieces for piano and string quartet, not pieces for five pianos  ). The ensemble, largely invented by Luigi Boccherini, who composed a dozen of them (way more than any other composer known to me), seems to invite composers to make especially grand gestures, allowing both the conversational feel of the string quartet and the expansive emotionality of much larger works.

My list:

1) Anton Rubinstein, Op. 99, g minor
2) Johannes Brahms, Op. 34, f minor
3) Louis Vierne, Op. 42, c minor
4) Edward Elgar, Op. 84, a minor
5) Antonin Dvorak, Op. 81, A Major (whew! At last a major key quintet)
6) Dmitri Shostakovitch, Op. 57, g minor
7) Cesar Franck, f minor

8) Franz Schubert, Op. 114, 'Trout,' A Major (with a double bass in lieu of a second violin)


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## andruini

Great idea.. The Piano Quintet is a format I've always found fascinating.. Not only because of the possibilities it offers, but also for the intense musicianship it takes to assemble it correctly..
I haven't heard Vierne's but you peaked my interest!

1) Dvorak A Major, Op. 81
2) Schubert Trout Quintet, Op. 114
3) Brahms F minor, Op. 34
4) Borodin C minor
5) Martinu No. 2
6) Shostakovich G minor, Op. 57

that's all i can get off the top of my head.. I've yet to hear the Rubinstein, Elgar, Franck, Fauré(s), Sibelius, etc. etc.

kind of irrelevant, but isn't this kind of funny/cool??


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## livemylife

I cannot believe I have never listened to the Dvorak piano quintet until yesterday! I recognized most of the melodies, even though I had no idea they were from this quintet... has it been used frequently in other media?


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## Air

After hearing it for the first time, I felt that I had to put in a good word for Taneyev's g minor quintet. Beautiful chamber music, just like everything else I've heard by Taneyev so far.


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## Lisztfreak

1. Elgar's (I think this one is my absolute favourite)
2. Fauré's 1st
3. Dora Pejacevic's
4. Schumann's
5. Fauré's 2nd

I don't like Shostakovich's very much. And I haven't heard many more piano quintets.


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## livemylife

I'm listening to Arensky's piano quintet in D major right now and it's really great. Well I enjoy Arensky's music, so no surprise there.


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## joen_cph

Concerning piano & strings, others include:

- Gubajdulina
- Martucci
- Alfonso Rendano
- Kokkonen
- H.D.Koppel
- Bartok
- Peiko
- Schnittke
- P.A. Heise
- Sibelius
- Respighi
- Reynaldo Hahn
- Atterberg (based on his 6th Symphony)
- Boris Tchaikovsky
- Henze 
- Mendelssohn (as far as I remember)
- Rochberg
- Bloch

Should I choose one, the Schnittke is of course the most different from the above-mentioned quintets - and a moving and profound one, like the somewhat Beethovenian Rochberg, very spectacular though sometimes a bit static. I don´t remember the Henze. I have a special fondness of the Franck (with Bernathova or Richter), the Faures and the Shostakovich, Schumann and Brahms quintets. Haven´t heard any of the Martinus, worth investigating, given - for example - his spectacular 2nd Cello Sonata. 
As regards the lesser-known italian quintets, the Martucci is a very good work, whereas the Rendano and Respighi are less memorable.


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## JSK

If "trout" instrumentation is OK, I like Farrenc's first.


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## Weston

I don't have that many piano quintets in my collection (or in memory).

I have two versions of the "Trout," one of them is an aging computer software disc that has annotations scroll by as it is playing -- very informative.

Vincent d'Indy has a dandy piano quintet in G minor I enjoy.

I also have a piano quintet by Arthur Foote, one by Mozart, and one by Franz Reizenstein. I can't honestly say I remember anything about them.

Lastly I have piano quintet by Peter Schikele that is quite playful, not surprisingly, but I found the string quartets on the same album more memorable.

To say any of these are my favorites might be a stretch. They are favorites only because they are in my collection.


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## Sid James

I too am no expert on this genre, but here are some that I know & have enjoyed:

*Granados* - very light, a mix of French salon, Spanish, Moorish (& even Hungarian?) styles
*Walton* - an early work, the piano has a driving, Bartok like edge, while the strings remind one of the world of Debussy, Ravel & early Vaughan Williams
*Schnittke*- no need to introduce this masterpiece. For me, it's like a fragile ornament that has shattered into a thousand pieces.
*Schubert* '_Trout_' - again, needs no introduction. Saw it performed live earlier this year, and it made me realise how much repetition happens in this work, almost as much as (say) in a Bruckner symphony, but obviously in a slightly different way.
*Brahms* (forget which one) - the Hungarian ending is the most memorable aspect to this marvellous music...


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## ScipioAfricanus

how dare you guys forget Schumann's in E flat, and Ludwig Thuille's in E flat. Utter blasphemy to list Piano Quintets without mentioning Schumann and Thuille.


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## Head_case

Don't know either Schumann or Thuille. Romantic era quintets? 

Piano Quintets I'm liking: 

1. Medtner
2. Taneyev
3. Schnittke
4. Bacewicz
5. Vainberg
6. Fauré (the only non-USSR/Pole)


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## HarpsichordConcerto

Bartok wrote a Piano Quintet. I just bought the CD (to arrive). Anybody here care to comment about this piece of fine music or horror?


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## Sebastien Melmoth

Gabriel *Pierné*

http://www.amazon.com/Gabriel-Piern...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1272716269&sr=1-2


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## ScipioAfricanus

Head_case said:


> Don't know either Schumann or Thuille. Romantic era quintets?


Robert Schumann practically invented the Piano Quintet. Thuille's work in E flat is a late Romantic work in a Brahmsian mode.


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## ScipioAfricanus

guys let is not forget that after Schumann invented the Piano Quintet in its current form, the next major work in the genre was by Joachim Raff.


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## joen_cph

Some other early protagonists of the Piano Quintet _a la Schubert _with double bass include Hummel (pre-1822), Onslow (_George_ Onslow, I mean - (3 quintets, 1840´s ??), and Dussek (1799). At least Dussek´s and Hummel´s were a great success in their own life-time. Dussek´s could just as well be played with a cello. And there was likewise the Piano Quintet by Prince Louis Ferdinand von Preussen (1803-06). Basil Smallman in "The Piano Quartet and Quintet: Style, Structure, and Scoring"(1996) states that the Dussek was popular and influential in establishing the genre among the early Romantics, including Louis Ferdinand (p.25).

Also, the underrated Boccherini wrote 12 piano quintets (including 6 Piano Quintets op.56, 1799, and Quintets op.57). It is true that Schumann´s is the main survivor among the early piano quintets, but to say that he invented the genre is going a bit too far ...

A Naxos page (www.naxos.com/mainsite) says that 


> _ Brahms turned to a fairly new model, the piano quintet. His hero Robert Schumann, Clara's late husband, had produced his greatest masterpiece in that form, and more or less invented the piano quintet as we know it: the quintets of Boccherini were arrangements, while those by Hummel and Schubert incorporated a double bass. In its final transformation Brahms's work achieved perfection at last, so that composers such as Dvořák, Franck, Fauré, Reger, Martucci, Elgar, Bloch, Reizenstein, Toch, Martinů and Shostakovich were inspired to follow suit._


but others say that the Boccherini´s were originally for piano & strings:
(http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/a/1375/Patrick_Cohen/1 + https://www.rillen.dk/index.asp?headGroupID=2&ProductNr=105813 + http://www.pristineclassical.com/LargeWorks/Chamber/PACM015.php).

However I agree with the Amazon-reviewer that Patrick Cohen´s fortepiano and the dry sound just doesn´t do justice to the music in the recording of the Boccherini quintets (http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B002NVLXEQ).

By the way Berwald also wrote two nice ones (1853).


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## HarpsichordConcerto

Yep. I have the complete Boccherini piano quintets on CD. So, I'm a bit confused when I read Schumann was the first who paired the piano of his day with a string quartet.


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## Serenade

If there was ever a piece of music I could play to anyone and say "this is the music my soul sings" it is *Vaughan-Williams Piano Quintet in C Minor *(1903).

Other than that and rather typically for me there's also Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor Op. 34


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## Sebastien Melmoth

*Schönberg*'s scintillating Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte (Op. 41) is for *piano quintet* and vocalist.

Also Anton von *Webern*'s *1907* Piano Quintet is sumptuous in it's crapulous fin de siècle decay:

http://www.amazon.com/Schoenberg-Na...=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1272809348&sr=1-7

http://www.amazon.com/Schoenberg-He...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1272809348&sr=1-1


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## mmsbls

I almost started a new thread before finding this one. In general I have a slight preference to orchestral music, but piano quintets are special to me. Here is a list of my favorites with the first group in rough order of preference. After that I have a second group that lists ones I love in alphabetic order.

Order of Preference (roughly):

Schubert: Piano Quintet "Trout"
Schumann: Piano Quintet
Dvorak: Piano Quintet
Brahms: Piano Quintet
Shostakovich: Piano Quintet in G minor
Franck: Piano Quintet
Bartok: Piano Quintet
Mozart: Quintet for Piano and Winds
Elgar: Piano Quintet in A minor
Bruch: Piano Quintet in G minor
Vaughan Williams: Piano Quintet in C minor
Faure: Piano Quintet No. 2 
Medtner: Piano Quintet
Taneyev: Piano Quintet in G minor
Hahn: Piano Quintet in F minor
Bridge: Piano Quintet in D minor
Farrenc: Piano Quintet No. 1 in A minor

Alphabetic order of others I love:

Andree: Piano Quintet in E minor
Arensky: Piano Quintet in D
Beach: Piano Quintet in F sharp
Dohnanyi: Piano Quintet No. 1 in C minor
Dohnanyi: Piano Quintet No. 2 in E flat minor
Farrenc: Piano Quintet in E
Field: Piano Quintet in A flat
Heise: Piano Quintet in F
Hummel: Piano Quintet in E flat
Liebermann: Piano Quintet
Novak: Piano Quintet in A minor
Onslow: Piano Quintet in G 
Rheinberger: Piano Quintet in C

I would love those who have not seen this thread to suggest others as I'd love to sample new works.


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## Vaneyes

The one, the only...

View attachment 3807


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## Il_Penseroso

Brahms Piano Quintet for me.


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## reffohelgnid

Re Boccherini et al vs. Schumann as the inventor of the piano quintet, one wikipedia article explains it thus:

While the genres of the piano trio and piano quartet were firmly established in the eighteenth century by Mozart and others, the piano quintet did not come into its own as a genre until the nineteenth century... Although such classical composers as Dussek and Boccherini wrote quintets for piano and string quartet, more commonly, a piano would be joined by violin, viola, cello and double bass. As the double bass would generally double the bass line in the piano part, such works were in effect piano quartets with basso continuo. Schubert's "Trout" Quintet (1819) is written for this combination of forces, as are the quintets of Hummel (1802), Ferdinand Ries (1809), and Farrenc (1839, 1840).

Not until the middle of the 19th century did Robert Schumann's Piano Quintet in E-Flat Major (1842) firmly established the quintet for piano and string quartet as a significant, and quintessentially Romantic, chamber music genre.​
Sources referenced are Randel, Don Michael, _The Harvard Dictionary of Music_
and Smallman, Basil, _The Piano Quartet and Quintet: Style, Structure, and Scoring_

So -- according to this point of view, anyway -- whereas the pairing of the piano with four stringed instruments certainly originated long before Schumann, it is Schumann who deserves credit for having given each instrument its own voice.


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## suffolkcoastal

The Piston, one of the finest of 20th century piano quintets IMO, and the Roy Harris. Other favourites the early Vaughan Williams, the expansive Bax, the Elgar, the Shostakovich, Berwald quintets, the Schumann the Martinu and the Dvorak.


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## Quartetfore

We don` often mention (if ever) Chamber Music composed by 19th century Italian composers, so here are some fine works for Piano Quintet. There are two "big" works by Giovanni Sgambati, and a very good Quintet by Guiseppe Martucci. Martucci also wrote two Piano Trios, the first is a favorite of mine. Sgambati did compose a String Quartet that was popular in its time. I have a recording, and it has some fine moments
If we where back 40 or 50 years ago, we would be listing the Bloch Piano Quintet. I`m afraid that the Sun has set on him.


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## poconoron

ScipioAfricanus said:


> Robert Schumann practically invented the Piano Quintet. Thuille's work in E flat is a late Romantic work in a Brahmsian mode.


He did????

What about:


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## Klavierspieler

poconoron said:


> He did????
> 
> What about:
> 
> View attachment 3838


Is with winds.


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## Orange Soda King

Oh, that's easy! The Brahms quintet Op. 34. The Schumann and Schubert Trout don't come within a mile.


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## Melvin

This is a useful thread!!
There needs to be threads like this for Piano trios and quartets too..


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## Guest

Brahms, Franck, Reger, Bloch No.1, Shostakovich, and Schnittke immediately come to mind.


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## Xaltotun

Brahms and Franck to me.


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## Prodromides

My No.1 favorite (and most frequently listened to) Quintette is by Charles Koechlin.
Koechlin's musical journeys from darkness into light is best represented by his Quintette Opus 80 (1921).

Other favorites of mine:

Ernest Bloch's Piano Quintet No.1 (1923)
George Enescu's Quintet
Meyer Kupferman's Quintet for Piano & Strings


[I have a couple of favorites which are quintets with bassoon & strings, as well ... and let's not forget Wind Quintets, too  )


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## TresPicos

Prodromides said:


> My No.1 favorite (and most frequently listened to) Quintette is by Charles Koechlin.
> Koechlin's musical journeys from darkness into light is best represented by his Quintette Opus 80 (1921).


I like Koechlin - obviously... - but I hadn't heard his piano quintet yet. Amazing stuff!

Thanks a million for that listening tip! :tiphat:


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## Prodromides

TresPicos said:


> I like Koechlin - obviously... - but I hadn't heard his piano quintet yet. Amazing stuff!
> 
> Thanks a million for that listening tip! :tiphat:


You are welcome, TresPicos.

I was initially introduced to Koechlin's Quintets via the 1989 French Cybelia album, which I acquired around 1994:










This recording is superb, but nonethelss out-of-print.

http://www.muziekweb.nl/Link/CJX0649

If interested, a more recent version of this '21 Quintette has appeared on this "Ar Re-se" label in 2010:










http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=282910

Hope you have many hours of bliss listening to Koechlin!

[I'm thinking about creating a thread in the Guestbook section on Charles Koechlin (since he hasn't even had a thread of his own over there!). Could we be the only 2 persons @ TC who love the music of Koechlin?]


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Mozart: Quintet for Piano and Winds
Adès: Piano Quintet
ComposerOfAvantGarde: Piano Quintet


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## Cnote11

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Mozart: Quintet for Piano and Winds
> Adès: Piano Quintet
> ComposerOfAvantGarde: Piano Quintet


First two are okay, but kind of amateurish. The last one is genius though.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Cnote11 said:


> First two are okay, but kind of amateurish. The last one is genius though.


Thank you so very much. I agree.


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## kv466

_Could we be the only 2 persons @ TC who love the music of Koechlin?_

No,...but not everyone considers him their favorite, either. I've heard his stuff for over twenty years and while the chamber is particularly pleasant, I couldn't honestly place it above all other composers already mentioned.


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## LordBlackudder




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## Quartetfore

I have only heard the 1st Quartet, but it is a beautiful little work.


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## Hausmusik

Sid James said:


> *Brahms* (forget which one) - the Hungarian ending is the most memorable aspect to this marvellous music...


Sid, I believe you are thinking of the first piano quartet of Brahms, not the quintet.

I am sort of fascinated by the piano quintet because of its interesting history. (Here I am cribbing from the Wikipedia article on the piano quintet, which I mainly wrote myself.)

Before Schumann, the combination of piano and string quartet was used mainly for reductions of piano concerti. Robert Schumann effectively "invented" the Romantic genre of chamber music written expressly for the combination of piano and string quartet in 1842. Taking advantage of technological advances in the manufacture of the pianoforte that expanded its power and volume, and combining it with the by-then-hallowed genre of the string quartet, Schumann created a work of extraordinary intensity that alternates between conversational passages among the five instruments and more concertante style that pits piano against the massed power of the strings.

Interestingly, the piano quintet seems to have "taken off" as chamber music moved out of the drawing room and into the concert hall.

The finest quintets for piano and string quartet are probably those by Schumann, Brahms and Dvorak. The first two are paired on a cheap Naxos recording that I think is a library cornerstone.


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## PlaySalieri

Has to be Schuman's great work - in fact the only chamber piece by him that I like.
Schubert's trout is great - so are the Brahms.
And Mozart's work for 4 winds and piano is fantastic.


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## Klavierspieler

Schumann, of course. Also Dvorak. I need to listen to Bartok.


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## Hausmusik

poconoron said:


> Quote Originally Posted by ScipioAfricanus
> Robert Schumann practically invented the Piano Quintet. Thuille's work in E flat is a late Romantic work in a Brahmsian mode.
> 
> He did????
> 
> View attachment 3838


Yes, ScipioAfricanus is quite correct. The piano quintet as we know it--piano and string quartet--Schumann practically invented. After his quintet appeared in 1842--and made a huge sensation--the genre began to attract other first-rank composers and other major works began to be written for this combination of instruments. Earlier works for piano and four other instruments were generally written for different combinations (piano and winds, or piano quartet + bass) the major exception being Boccherini. This is covered in numerous books on the history of chamber music.


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## jeffpianoman

The Juon piano quintet #2 is great. I sight-read it with string players at a chamber music workshop. I don't think it has been recorded. Juon wrote five piano trios (#2 and #4 (Litaniae) are my faves), two piano quartets, two piano quintets and a piano sextet. Worth checking out if you're a performer -- if anyone finds a recording, let me know.


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## Arsakes

Sadly I haven't listened to many of them.
So like before Dvorak's, Sibelius' and Brahms'.


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## Taneyev

On Juon, don't know his chamber with piano, but have his 4 string quartets and 3 violin sonatas. Beautiful music.


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## Krisena

I'm very much in love with Sibelius piano quintet in G minor, although it's not in Sibelius' mature style and not very known at all. Barely belonging in this topic, I'm also a fan of Mendelssohn's piano sextet.


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## Marika

My favorite piano quintets...
1. Brahms F minor
2. Dohnanyi C minor
3. Dvorak A major
4. Arensky
5. Vaughn Williams (Bass instead of another violin)

As a student at a performing arts high school I've been able to study the Brahms and Dohnanyi and I enjoyed them very much. The Vaughn Williams is definitely lesser-known but is definitely worth listening to because it is an incredible piece.


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## BaronAlstromer

Brahms, Schumann and Berwald´s number 2.


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## unpocoscherzando

My favourite piano quintets (for piano and string quartet):

Brahms
Granados and Sibelius
Borodin
Schumann


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## elgar's ghost

Chronologically: Schubert, Franck, Korngold, Shostakovich, Schnittke.


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## Novelette

Schumann's is among my favorites, certainly. While I don't find nearly as exciting as Dvorak's or Brahms', it has a very refined elegance to it.

Likewise his Piano Quartet.


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## Novelette

For some reason, Schubert's Piano Quintet doesn't do much for me. =\


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## peeyaj

There's only one *Trout*.


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## schuberkovich

Trout doesn't do it for me either, even though I love Schubert


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## Kieran

Mozarts.

Trout doesn't trouble me too much, either, and I've tried hard with it. Maybe it's my Naxos recording, with Jeno Jando (who I usually like), the Kodaly Quartet, and Istvan Toth on double bass.

I like Beethoven's piano quintet too. I prefer the piano quintet with wind instruments more, I suppose...


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## jurianbai

Hey hey.. this I found the Piano QUintet is more than just a 'filler'.... impressed by this composer indeed.









http://amzn.to/YZGiDD


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## Kieran

peeyaj said:


> There's only one *Trout*.


That'd be the song, right?


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## Guest

Brahms' Op. 34
Dvorak Op. 81
Mozart K. 452
Schubert D. 667
Schumann Op. 44

Those are in alphabetical order. My favorites are the Dvorak and the Schubert.


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## Cadenza

Brahms, Dvorak, and twenty others...but the one that introduced me to the form and remains my favorite is E. Dohnanyi's number 1. (He wrote two - the second remains in deep obscurity...)
Not many recordings (the Schubert Ensemble is the only one I'm aware of), but if my house were burning down, I'd run in to save my copy.


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## pjang23

Brahms and Schubert of course, but I also love Hummel, both Dohnanyis, Bloch 1, both Faure's and Bridge's 1912 quintet.


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## BartokPizz

Assuming we mean for piano and strings, not winds.

Dvorak is in first place. Brahms and Schumann tie for second. After that, Shostakovich and Schubert.

Schnittke, Hummel, and the two by Faure would round out the top nine.

I find Franck's tedious and overheated.


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## hpowders

Brahms is number one with me. Then Dvorak, by default.


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## Avey

Mr. Bela Bartok, obviously.


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## MoonlightSonata

I like the Trout.


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## DiesIraeCX

Brahms and Schubert! Both are essential pieces.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

*Leo Ornstein.*


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## PeterF

The Piano Quintet is a genre that I truly love. Over the years I have acquired a large number of Piano Quintets by many composers. It seems that every time I turn around I learn about another one.

Nonetheless, my top favorites are the ones by the masters - Schumann, Brahms, Dvorak, and Schubert's Trout with a double bass.


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## aajj

My favorite is Brahms. It's pure chamber but on the scale of a symphony or concerto. 

Also, 
Shostakovich 
Mozart, with winds, K452
Bloch No. 1
Schubert's Trout. 
Schumann


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## hpowders

Yes. The Brahm's Piano Quintet is hard to beat.


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## Fagotterdammerung

I'm a big fan of Florent Schmitt's Piano Quintet. A vast, lush work on the tail end of Romanticism. Though the sound quality is poor, it's worth hunting down Schmitt's own performance recorded in the '50s.


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## Stavrogin

Dvorak and Schnittke for me


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## sbmonty

It's difficult to choose from so many incredible works. Right now I'm listening to Dvorák's No.2 Op 81. The second movement is amazing. I really like Fauré as well. Brahms and Schumann are undeniably excellent.


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## kyjo

There's many piano quintets that I love, but my absolute favorite is Bloch's 1st. What an extraordinary work! It's filled with relentless motoric rhythms, passionate melodies that betray Bloch's Jewish heritage, and potent atmosphere. It follows a "darkness-to-light" journey from the turmoil of the opening, through the mysterious slow movement, and finally to a calm C major coda. I highly recommend this recording by Lilya Zilberstein et al.:


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## kyjo

Two great recent discoveries of mine have been the early piano quintets of Vaughan Williams and Bartok. The VW, scored for the same instrumentation as Schubert's _Trout_, is a beautiful work with a touching, hymn-like slow movement. The Bartok is a thrilling work abounding with 'gypsy' fire and abandon. Don't miss this spectacular performance of the Bartok by Janine Jansen and friends:


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## Brahmsian Colors

No particular order----

Mozart K 452
Dvorak No. 2, op. 81...Unflaggingly poetic, joyous and musical
Borodin in C Minor
Faure No. 1, op. 89
Faure No. 2, op. 115


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## mmsbls

kyjo said:


> Two great recent discoveries of mine have been the early piano quintets of Vaughan Williams and Bartok. The VW, scored for the same instrumentation as Schubert's _Trout_, is a beautiful work with a touching, hymn-like slow movement. The Bartok is a thrilling work abounding with 'gypsy' fire and abandon. Don't miss this spectacular performance of the Bartok by Janine Jansen and friends:


Bartok's early quintet is one of my favorites. I've enjoyed everything I've heard from Jansen, and this performance was no exception. Thanks for the link.


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## insomniclassicac

A fave not yet mentioned:

Huré: Piano Quintet in D Major:






Pianist: Marie-Josephe Jude
Ensemble: Louvigny Quartet


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## Roger Knox

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Bartok wrote a Piano Quintet. I just bought the CD (to arrive). Anybody here care to comment about this piece of fine music or horror?


Why horror? It's a wonderful early piece. Neglected for many to help establish Bartok's modernist profile. Now being performed again!


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## Fritjof

Alfred Schnittke - Piano Quintet
Dimitrij Shostakovich - Piano Quintet in G-Minor op. 57


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## MusicSybarite

Two favorites of mine, too. Fritjof, welcome to Talk Classical!


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## Zeus

Fejgielman's piano quintet is an absolute masterpiece... I believe it's somewhere on this forum 

On a more serious note: while I was composing it, I spent all day listening to chamber music, and I must say among the piano quintets I listened to, Shostakovich, Medtner and Brahms are my favourites.


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## insomniclassicac

Another wonderful "unknown" quintet: Juliusz Zarębski's Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 34.






Piano: Martha Argerich
Violin: Bartłomiej Nizioł
Violin: Agata Szymczewska
Viola: Lyda Chen
Cello: Alexander Neustroev


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## insomniclassicac

Last night, listened to and very much enjoyed Boris Lyatoshynsky's "Ukrainian" Piano Quintet, Op. 42:






Piano: Ivan Pakhota
Violin: Lidia Futorska
Violin: Andriy Tchaikovsky
Viola: Marta Karapinka
Cello: Viktor Rekalo


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## Star

Dvorak is great fun


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## Roger Knox

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> *Leo Ornstein.*


I can't hear you!


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## Beet131

Fifty years ago, I heard the Brahms Piano Quintet and instantly fell in love with it. I wouldn't venture to say how many times I've listened to it, but it's somewhere in the hundreds. I never tire of it. It is one of those perfect pieces to take to a desert island. I love the Schumann also. Those two top my list, but the Schubert "Trout" and the Dvorak No. 2, Op. 81 are also exceptional. Amy Beach's Piano Quintet in F sharp minor is also quite extraordinary. The 2nd movement Adagio Espressivo is one of the most poignant movements in chamber music. The Thuille PQ is also gorgeous.


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## hpowders

Beet131 said:


> Fifty years ago, I heard the Brahms Piano Quintet and instantly fell in love with it. I wouldn't venture to say how many times I've listened to it, but it's somewhere in the hundreds. I never tire of it. It is one of those perfect pieces to take to a desert island. I love the Schumann also. Those two top my list, but the Schubert "Trout" and the Dvorak No. 2, Op. 81 are also exceptional. Amy Beach's Piano Quintet in F sharp minor is also quite extraordinary. The 2nd movement Adagio Espressivo is one of the most poignant movements in chamber music. The Thuille PQ is also gorgeous.


Do you have the Barry Douglas/Tokyo Quartet performance of the Brahms Piano Quintet? Best I've ever heard.


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## Beet131

Thanks hpowders. I don't have that recording, but I will certainly look into buying it. I have the Rubinstein/Guarneri and the Stephen Hough/Takacs. I sure appreciate the recommendation. 

That was fast - I just ordered it on Amazon. I bought a used cd in very good condition; just $7.23. Hope it has been stored carefully.

Thanks again!


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## hpowders

Beet131 said:


> Thanks hpowders. I don't have that recording, but I will certainly look into buying it. I have the Rubinstein/Guarneri and the Stephen Hough/Takacs. I sure appreciate the recommendation.
> 
> That was fast - I just ordered it on Amazon. I bought a used cd in very good condition; just $7.23. Hope it has been stored carefully.
> 
> Thanks again!


Sure thing! Hope you enjoy it!


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## Guest

It has to be this, composed by a lifetime idol of mine:


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## pjang23

Christabel said:


> It has to be this, composed by a lifetime idol of mine:


My reference recording too. Eschenbach and the Amadeus Quartet play with such intensity, drive, and aggression without ever losing poise.


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## Beet131

hpowders said:


> Do you have the Barry Douglas/Tokyo Quartet performance of the Brahms Piano Quintet? Best I've ever heard.


I just received the Barry Douglas/Tokyo String Quartet CD of the Brahms Piano Quintet in the mail this morning. It is so good! I've already listened to it twice and I concur - it's the best I've now heard too. Thanks again hpowders for recommending this recording. The sound is great. The acoustics and sound engineering is excellent. Douglas and the Tokyo String Quartet are superb in their intonation and sensitivity. There are times when I hear passages in it that I hadn't heard as clearly before in other recordings (like the pizzicato of the cello at the 2 minute mark of the first movement as just one example - for comparison I went back to listen to the Rubinstein/Guarneri and the Hough/Takacs - That pizzicato is there in the Rubinstein/Guarneri but not as well-articulated as in the Douglas/Tokyo - It's almost inaudible in the Hough/Takacs. The second movement Andante by the Douglas/Tokyo ensemble is the most sensitive performance I've heard; tempo is just right and I hear the viola better than ever before. They push the tempo just a hair faster than I'm used to in the Scherzo-Allegro, but it just seems to give it even more power and drive. And, the mysterious beginning of the Poco Sostenuto is awesome - almost shades of early Bartok. All in all, such a very warm sound, rich and expressive. Many thanks! It has quickly become one of my new favorite recordings!


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## hpowders

Beet131 said:


> I just received the Barry Douglas/Tokyo String Quartet CD of the Brahms Piano Quintet in the mail this morning. It is so good! I've already listened to it twice and I concur - it's the best I've now heard too. Thanks again hpowders for recommending this recording. The sound is great. The acoustics and sound engineering is excellent. Douglas and the Tokyo String Quartet are superb in their intonation and sensitivity. There are times when I hear passages in it that I hadn't heard as clearly before in other recordings (like the pizzicato of the cello at the 2 minute mark of the first movement as just one example - for comparison I went back to listen to the Rubinstein/Guarneri and the Hough/Takacs - That pizzicato is there in the Rubinstein/Guarneri but not as well-articulated as in the Douglas/Tokyo - It's almost inaudible in the Hough/Takacs. The second movement Andante by the Douglas/Tokyo ensemble is the most sensitive performance I've heard; tempo is just right and I hear the viola better than ever before. They push the tempo just a hair faster than I'm used to in the Scherzo-Allegro, but it just seems to give it even more power and drive. And, the mysterious beginning of the Poco Sostenuto is awesome - almost shades of early Bartok. All in all, such a very warm sound, rich and expressive. Many thanks! It has quickly become one of my new favorite recordings!


Glad you like it. Yes. It's a terrific performance. I believe Barry Douglas has recorded all of the Brahms solo piano music and I have a feeling it is a "must get".

Finally, a competition winner (Tchaikovsky Gold, 1986)) who really became a sensitive, wonderful musician. He and Cliburn.


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## Beet131

hpowders said:


> Glad you like it. Yes. It's a terrific performance. I believe Barry Douglas has recorded all of the Brahms solo piano music and I have a feeling it is a "must get".
> 
> Finally, a competition winner (Tchaikovsky Gold, 1986)) who really became a sensitive, wonderful musician. He and Cliburn.


Yes, I have the Barry Douglas "Brahms Works for Solo Piano," and really enjoy it. He certainly is one of the more sensitive pianists. His playing is just outstanding. Thanks again for the heads-up on the Brahms Piano Quintet; really love it!


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## tdc

Brahms and Bartok


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## hpowders

Beet131 said:


> Yes, I have the Barry Douglas "Brahms Works for Solo Piano," and really enjoy it. He certainly is one of the more sensitive pianists. His playing is just outstanding. Thanks again for the heads-up on the Brahms Piano Quintet; really love it!


Sure. As a matter of fact, I played the Brahms Quintet/Douglas-Tokyo early this morning. Love the tempo they establish for the beginning of the second movement. Just right, IMHO.


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## Beet131

hpowders said:


> Sure. As a matter of fact, I played the Brahms Quintet/Douglas-Tokyo early this morning. *Love the tempo they establish for the beginning of the second movement. Just right*, IMHO.


So true - just right!


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## Roger Knox

Friedrich Gernsheim's 5-movement _Piano Quintet No. 2 in B Minor_ is an attractive work, in a Brahmsian vein but less complex, as is usual with Gernsheim. Anyone like me who likes Gernsheim's other works will probably like this one!


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## kyjo

Cross-posted from the "pieces that have blown you away recently" thread:

*Korngold's Piano Quintet:* 




This incredibly rich-textured work is teeming with gorgeous, complex harmonies and colorful, magical effects (pizzicati, harmonics, etc.). The second movement, which is a set of variations on one of the songs from his _Lieder des Abschieds_, is particularly moving.


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## Roger Knox

insomniclassicac said:


> Another wonderful "unknown" quintet: Juliusz Zarębski's Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 34.


I listened to the Zarebski Piano Quintet for the first time this morning. No wonder Argerich was attracted to it! *Juliusz Zarebski (1854-85)* impressed Liszt as a young virtuoso pianist with potential to be a composer. But Zarebski died of tuberculosis, the wonderful Quintet being his last work and one that has an atmosphere all its own.


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## Fredx2098

Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor
Feldman: Piano and String Quartet


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## chill782002

Borodin - Piano Quintet in C minor

Respighi - Piano Quintet in F minor

Schumann - Piano Quintet in E flat major


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## MusicSybarite

Raff - Piano quintet in A minor
Brahms - Piano quintet in F minor
Sgambati - His two piano quintets (in F minor and in B flat major)
Dvorák - Piano quintet in A major, op. 81
Fauré - Both
S. Taneyev - Piano quintet in G minor
Elgar - Piano quintet in A minor
V. Novák - Piano quintet in A minor
Suk - Piano quintet in G minor
Respighi - Piano quintet
Medtner - Piano quintet in C major
Bloch - Piano quintet No. 1
Bartók - Piano quintet
Atterberg - Piano quintet in C major
Martinu - Piano quintet No. 2
Shostakovich - Piano quintet in G minor
Weinberg - Piano quintet


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## Quartetfore

MusicSybarite said:


> Raff - Piano quintet in A minor
> Brahms - Piano quintet in F minor
> Sgambati - His two piano quintets (in F minor and in B flat major)
> Dvorák - Piano quintet in A major, op. 81
> Fauré - Both
> S. Taneyev - Piano quintet in G minor
> Elgar - Piano quintet in A minor
> V. Novák - Piano quintet in A minor
> Suk - Piano quintet in G minor
> Respighi - Piano quintet
> Medtner - Piano quintet in C major
> Bloch - Piano quintet No. 1
> Bartók - Piano quintet
> Atterberg - Piano quintet in C major
> Martinu - Piano quintet No. 2
> Shostakovich - Piano quintet in G minor
> Weinberg - Piano quintet


I`m not a fan of the Respighi quintet, except of the last movement. But I was glad to see that you listed the two Sgambati works. So little is mentioned of the the 19th century Italian Chamber Music. I think that the most important composer of the time was Martucci who composed two very fine Piano Trios, and an interesting Piano Quintet. Very much influenced by Brahms, and very well regarded by him. If you have a chance,try to hear the String Quartet of Sgambati-- It is a very fine work


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## MusicSybarite

Quartetfore said:


> I`m not a fan of the Respighi quintet, except of the last movement. But I was glad to see that you listed the two Sgambati works. So little is mentioned of the the 19th century Italian Chamber Music. I think that the most important composer of the time was Martucci who composed two very fine Piano Trios, and an interesting Piano Quintet. Very much influenced by Brahms, and very well regarded by him. _If you have a chance,try to hear the String Quartet of Sgambati-- It is a very fine work_


Sgambati has been a revelation lately. I do know his two string quartets (the first one is an early work, not very interesting) BUT the No. 2 (in C sharp minor) is absolutely magnificent. Such elegance and sophistication! Nice you know him as well.


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## BiscuityBoyle

A masterpiece overall but the slow movement is particularly mesmerizing


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## Fredx2098

BiscuityBoyle said:


> A masterpiece overall but the slow movement is particularly mesmerizing


I love this! Never heard of him. I'll have to listen to more.


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## MusicSybarite

How I could forget the Cras's Piano Quintet, one of the very best ones from France with its magical evocations of exotic lands.


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## BiscuityBoyle

Fredx2098 said:


> I love this! Never heard of him. I'll have to listen to more.


Yeah no one seems to have heard about him but he was a genuinely great composer. His 4th Symphony is really wonderful.


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## insomniclassicac

Although composed before he had fully-developed it, notable strains of Bohuslav Martinů's unique voice shine through his "true" first, unfinished Piano Quintet, H.35 (particularly in the first movement). It's a favorite of mine's:










Piano: Michiko Otaki
Graffe String Quartet
Violin: Stepan Graffe
Violin: Lukas Bednarik
Viola: Lukas Cybulski
Cello: Michal Hreno


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## MusicSybarite

Just I've come across the monumental Piano Quintet in B minor by Florent Schmitt. Wow! This is an extraordinary chamber work, muscular, dramatic, intense, passionate, with many impressionistic subtleties, mostly à la Debussy. It's 50+ minutes long, but don't be pull off by this, it's worth listening every second. Another favorite quintet that goes to my list. A very rewarding piece, widely recommended.


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## kyjo

*Ornstein's Piano Quintet*. WOW! There are not enough words to describe the utter _epicness_ (not a real word, I guess!) of this work! Its style is quite similar to another great piano quintet written in the 1920s by an American composer of Jewish heritage - Bloch's first. Driving rhythms, irregular time signatures, pounding chords, and mysterious, melismatic melodic lines characterize this gripping work. Right from the start, you know you're in for a wild ride! This surely sounds like one of the most difficult piano quintets ever written! Highly recommended!!


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## MusicSybarite

kyjo said:


> *Ornstein's Piano Quintet*. WOW! There are not enough words to describe the utter _epicness_ (not a real word, I guess!) of this work! Its style is quite similar to another great piano quintet written in the 1920s by an American composer of Jewish heritage - Bloch's first. Driving rhythms, irregular time signatures, pounding chords, and mysterious, melismatic melodic lines characterize this gripping work. Right from the start, you know you're in for a wild ride! This surely sounds like one of the most difficult piano quintets ever written! Highly recommended!!


I saw that recommendation on this thread some months ago, so I listened to the very beginning of it but I did feel it somewhat _thorny_ and I turned it off. I possibly wasn't in the mood for it that day. I'll give it a spin when I can.


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## pjang23

The *Amy Beach* Piano Quintet is another obscure gem. She was heavily influenced by Brahms' own composition, quoting its final movement for thematic material. The second movement is particularly beautiful:


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## kyjo

MusicSybarite said:


> I saw that recommendation on this thread some months ago, so I listened to the very beginning of it but I did feel it somewhat _thorny_ and I turned it off. I possibly wasn't in the mood for it that day. I'll give it a spin when I can.


The opening may be a bit "thorny" but fear not, there are many gorgeous lyrical "oases" throughout the work. I think you'll enjoy it!


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## Roger Knox

MusicSybarite said:


> Just I've come across the monumental Piano Quintet in B minor by Florent Schmitt. Wow! This is an extraordinary chamber work, muscular, dramatic, intense, passionate, with many impressionistic subtleties, mostly à la Debussy. It's 50+ minutes long, but don't be pull off by this, it's worth listening every second. Another favorite quintet that goes to my list. A very rewarding piece, widely recommended.


Monumental indeed! It would be interesting to compare the Schmitt with the Piano Quintet by Gabriel Pierne, and see which one gives the wildest ride! They demonstrate the extreme competiveness of the pre-World War I Paris scene, where composers were outdoing each other with longer, louder, more complex, more virtuosic works. Then came _The Rite of Spring_, World War One, and new assumptions . . .


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## MusicSybarite

^^^^I had forgotten the Pierné's Piano Quintet in E minor written in 1916-17. Another stupendous one, significantly lengthy (40 min or so) and dense too but never boring.


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## MusicSybarite

Besides the Pierné, the Vierne's Piano Quintet in C minor was written around this time, more precisely in 1917-18 like a tribute to his died son. I think it's not on my list either, a terrible mistake! This is one of the most boisterous chamber works I know. Simply it gives me lots of goosebumps, a masterpiece of its own. If you don't know it, please, give it a try. You won't be disappointed.


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## MusicSybarite

From The Netherlands we have the Piano Quintet in D flat major by Dirk Schäfer (1873-1931). Dirk didn't compose many works, afaik just some chamber works, among those this gem. It's such a tuneful work, it has nothing to envy of, say, Dvorák's compositions regarding melodies or mastery. It's really good fun, in a cyclic way, with a touching slow movement.


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## MusicSybarite

I continue listening to the Ornstein's Piano Quintet and I have to say that is a masterpiece! I don't know what I was thinking the time I tried listening to it! This is the kind of stuff that mesmerizes me and I find so compelling, even more when Oriental influences are present. Thanks kyjo once more for bringing it to us!


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## MusicSybarite

I must confess I'm thoroughly addicted and sick by this musical form. Along with the string quartet, this is my favorite chamber ensemble. My last discovery has been Alexis de Castillon and his unspeakably beautiful Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 1 (and what an Opus 1!). I think this work expresses the loveliest idyll that a couple could have. A work of the most sublime inspiration. The tunes and the warm music that is heard is to die for! Incredibly there are no many recordings of it, a real shame because this work deserves much more performances in both CDs and concert halls.


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## kyjo

MusicSybarite said:


> I must confess I'm thoroughly addicted and sick by this musical form. Along with the string quartet, this is my favorite chamber ensemble. My last discovery has been Alexis de Castillon and his unspeakably beautiful Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 1 (and what an Opus 1!). I think this work expresses the loveliest idyll that a couple could have. A work of the most sublime inspiration. The tunes and the warm music that is heard is to die for! Incredibly there are no many recordings of it, a real shame because this work deserves much more performances in both CDs and concert halls.


Sounds lovely! I'll have to seek it out. Speaking of opus 1 piano quintets, there's Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's, a very fine achievement. It sports some Dvořákian influences, but already displays quite an individual voice. It has great tunes galore and some unexpected twists and imaginative textures which bely its early date of composition. There's a really fine performance by the Nash Ensemble on Hyperion.


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## Portamento

_The Chamber Music Journal_'s latest volume tackles many undeservedly obscure piano quintets.

Vol. 28, No.1
Vol. 28, No.2


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## MusicSybarite

Portamento said:


> _The Chamber Music Journal_'s latest volume tackles many undeservedly obscure piano quintets.
> 
> Vol. 28, No.1
> Vol. 28, No.2


I've seen a lot of interesting and forgotten quintets on those PDFs. That webpage contains PDFs of other chamber ensemles works (trios, quartets, sextets, etc). Many thanks for the links!


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