Piano Quintets?

Started by Whisperer, February 17, 2020, 07:36:31 AM

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Whisperer

Dear All

Just found this website and hope some kind individuals may help me.

Had a long term interest in listening to classical music, knowing what my ears liked not the formal musical terms. Recently I have found myself in a gradually developing caring role, do not get out much and fallen back on my long-standing interests of listening to music and reading fiction.

My query regards piano quintets. Love Schumann, Dvorak, Elgar, Brahms, Dohanny, Faure, etc. What I guess you would call the main stream or well known examples. Now imagine you wanted to step off that beaten track and roam down some back waters. What would you recommend and more interestingly why? Any rely would be very welcome.

On a slightly different note can you recommend a book which gives a background to the main composers. Not a huge book on one composer, not one which really goes into great technical detail on their music, etc. Say about twenty pages on each main stream composer, a starting point to branch out from. For example I now know one of Mendelssohn's last string quartets is angst driven, reflecting the recent death of his loved sister. It just put that quartet into context when I found out that fact. Again any guidance  would be much appreciated. Caring is demanding but quiet evenings I wish to fill with interests I can drop at a moment's notice then pick up again when time allows, gradually building my knowledge.

Many thanks for taking the time to read my post. Taking the time to reply would be very much appreciated.

Papy Oli

Hello Whisperer and welcome to GMG.

For a general book on composers, I could recommend this one (about 15 to 30+ page per composers - check the Look Inside link for the table of contents) :

[asin]1848311354[/asin]
Olivier

bhodges

#2
Hello, Whisperer, and welcome.

Have no idea if music of Alfred Schnittke will be appealing, but his Piano Quintet (1976) is one of his best works. He wrote it after the death of his mother, and it is filled with contrasting emotions.

There are many fine recordings to choose from, such as this one with the Tale Quartet and Roland Pöntinen, but based on what I've heard (e.g., from groups like Capricorn, the Borodin and Vermeer Quartets, etc.) you can't go wrong with any of them.

[asin]B000027E6M[/asin]

--Bruce

Jo498

With Dohnanyi you already have some of the lesser known ones. For similarly very late romantic there is e.g. Taneyev and Medtner. There is also an early fairly romantic work by Bartok. For somewhat more modern but also accessible try Bloch (2 of them) and Shostakovich.

you probably know the Franck already. Chausson didn't write a quintet, but a piano quartet and a sextet that is called "concert" for piano, violin and string quartet. Two more late romantic French options are Pierné and Vierne with one piano quintet each. All of them should be appealing if you like Franck's and Fauré's
Tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans une chambre.
- Blaise Pascal

Florestan



If you are into quintets for piano and winds as well, check Mozart, Beethoven, Anton Rubinstein, Rimsky-Korsakov and Carl Nielsen.
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

Archaic Torso of Apollo

Both quintets by Martinu (especially the second) are excellent. Conveniently coupled on Naxos.

A review: https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-13853/
formerly VELIMIR (before that, Spitvalve)

"Who knows not strict counterpoint, lives and dies an ignoramus" - CPE Bach

ahinton

Schmitt, anyone? One of the greatest of all, methinks!

mc ukrneal

Some good recommendations. Lots to explore. I would add: Goetz, Granados, Bridge,  and Vaughan Williams for consideration as well. There are more, so give us enough time, I am sure we could list them all!!! :)

And welcome to the forum!
Be kind to your fellow posters!!

André

Shostakovich and Louis Vierne wrote extraordinary works in the medium.

Daverz

Another vote for Franck, Shostakovich, Bloch, Taneyev, and Martinu.  I'll also add Bacewicz No. 1 and Weinberg/Vainberg.

vandermolen

Hello and welcome Whisperer.
For an introductory book I'd like to recommend this one which I think will fit your requirements. You can pick it up second-hand for 50p on Amazon (UK). I've found the book very helpful over many years. As for piano quintets my favourites are by Bloch, Shostakovich, Weinberg, Schnittke and the early one by Vaughan Williams:
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Archaic Torso of Apollo

Another good neo-classical one I just remembered: Walter Piston (also on Naxos, with a bunch of his other chamber music).
formerly VELIMIR (before that, Spitvalve)

"Who knows not strict counterpoint, lives and dies an ignoramus" - CPE Bach

San Antone

I don't think these have been mentioned, but I'd be surprised if Faure's have not come up yet.

Weinberg's Piano Quintet is fantastic. Faure wrote two piano quintets; Bacewicz wrote two piano quintets; and Charles Wuorinen wrote two piano quintets  one very recently.

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: ahinton on February 17, 2020, 12:04:30 PM
Schmitt, anyone? One of the greatest of all, methinks!

Me! A truly symphonic piano quintet, and so great it is.
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

Symphonic Addict

Several superb PQs have been named already. I didn't want to be without any of these ones either:

Adolphe Biarent
Gabriel Dupont (Poème)
Jean Huré
Nikolai Medtner
Bela Bartók
Arnold Bax
Leo Ornstein
Alexis de Castillon
Christian Sinding
Josef Suk
Vitezslav Novák
Kurt Atterberg
and the short but concise by Ottorino Respighi
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

relm1

I like Krzysztof Meyer's 40 minute epic piano quintet.

André

+1 for the Ornstein and the mammoth Schmitt opus.

Karl Henning

Quote from: Archaic Torso of Apollo on February 17, 2020, 11:58:10 AM
Both quintets by Martinu (especially the second) are excellent. Conveniently coupled on Naxos.

A review: https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-13853/


Yes, and I see that both Shostakovich & Schnittke have been mentioned, though in reverse order.

And the Mieczyslaw Weinberg Quintet!
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

Quote from: Florestan on February 17, 2020, 11:00:25 AM


If you are into quintets for piano and winds as well, check Mozart, Beethoven, Anton Rubinstein, Rimsky-Korsakov and Carl Nielsen.

The Mozart quintet for pf & winds is practically obligatory listening!
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

San Antone

Quote from: relm1 on February 17, 2020, 04:25:12 PM
I like Krzysztof Meyer's 40 minute epic piano quintet.

I need to hear this work, Meyer is among my favorite living composers, but I've only heard his string quartets.