Program
SCHUBERT: Quintet in C major (D. 956, Op. posth. 163), Mov. I
Allegro ma non troppo
Josiah Misselt, violin I
Topher Liao, violin II
Amy Letson, viola
Nate Brunette, cello I
Katelyn Yee, cello II
SCHUMANN: Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44
Allegro brillante
In modo d'una marcia. Un poco largamente
Scherzo: Molto vivace
Allegro ma non troppo
Jonathan Seaberg, piano
Josiah Misselt, violin I
Topher Liao, violin II
Niloofar Sohi, viola
Nate Brunette, cello
Program Notes
SCHUBERT: Quintet in C major (D. 956, Op. posth. 163), Mov. I
Allegro ma non troppo
Length: About 20 minutes.
About the piece: In the fall of 1828, Schubert was 31 years old and very ill, yet astonishingly productive. His late works had a unique expansive quality as if he was composing from the other side already. The String Quintet in C Major you’ll hear today was completed only weeks before his death, and if you’re sensing a strange blend of radiance and darkness in its first movement… well, so did he.
Schubert makes the very unconventional decision to add a second cello rather than a second viola. This is akin to bringing a second dessert to the table - it’s indulgent, it changes the whole menu, and no one’s complaining. Plus, it gives the cellists more to do, for once.
The first movement, Allegro ma non troppo, begins with a slow sunrise. The C-major opening is full of trapdoors and leaps through an intense interplay between the high and low strings while triplets provide forward motion. The lyrical second theme arrives suddenly, and it will be obvious: the two cellos duet, and the two violins take their turn while the viola keeps everyone anchored. Then, the first violin goes off smelling the roses while the second violin cooks in the background. Long melodies float over occasional death throes. Some themes repeat for good measure before the music concludes with a calming decrescendo.
Sadly, Schubert never heard the quintet performed. When he sent it to his publisher, the feedback was: that’s nice, but can we get more of your songs and popular piano music? Schubert died 2 months later. After the quintet was published 25 years later, people realized: “oh shoot, this guy was good at chamber music”. The piece endures today as one of the greatest chamber works ever written.
Unfortunately for you, we’re only playing the first movement today, so if you enjoy it, keep an eye on our website (mississippivalleyorchestra.com) for when we program the full piece in the future!
What to listen for:
The lushness and resonance of two cellos.
Beautiful duets and soaring melodies.
The textures created by the inner voices.
SCHUMANN: Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44
Allegro brillante
In modo d'una marcia. Un poco largamente
Scherzo: Molto vivace
Allegro ma non troppo
Length: About 38 minutes.
About the piece: In 1842, Robert Schumann was in the middle of what historians call his “year of chamber music” and what his wife Clara probably called “that year Robert wouldn’t stop writing for strings.” Out of this frenzy came several fabulous works like his string quartets, the piano quartet, but also the iconic Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, which was a gamechanger for the genre.
Before Schumann, the piano quintet was something of a wallflower - respectable, charming, unlikely to draw attention away from the strings. Schumann flipped the script and made the piano the charismatic host, the ringleader, and the occasional show-off. It probably helped that the world’s best pianist at the time was his wife and muse - the great Clara Schumann. There was one small hitch in the piece’s success though. His good friend Felix Mendelssohn had to step in to play the piano part for the premiere because Clara fell ill, and he… called the slow movement “a little boring”. Schumann, in a rollercoaster of emotions, briefly rewrote it, then decided he liked it the way it was the first time. We agree. Mendelssohn did the premiere anyway, proving that friendship can survive blunt musical feedback, kind of like how our group here functions today.
The first movement wastes no time: it bursts in with a heroic theme that is unmistakably Schumann. The following theme is more songful, but even in the lyrical moments, the music is written in such a way that it’s constantly hurtling forward. And how about that cello and viola duet?
The second movement is a dignified funeral march. The main theme is somber but oddly elegant, carried by the strings in long phrases over the piano’s measured chords. The material gets reshaped several times before dream sequences enter with the first violin and cello floating above plushy overlapping rhythms (a hemiola!) from the piano, second violin, and viola. A turbulent central section turns to a dark C minor, as if the procession has hit bad weather. The viola leads an epic reprisal of the funeral march bolstered by a frenzied tremolo underneath. More dream sequences return before we return to the slow march and an ethereal ending.
The third movement is a locomotive, high energy scherzo - all sprinting scales and bounding rhythms. This is sugar rush music, and the thrill comes from precision, not power. We used the metronome to practice this movement a lot and we hope it works out.
The fourth movement opens with an energetic, mischievous theme tossed in between the piano and the strings, quickly developing into more elaborate conversations. Themes pop up, get interrupted, then reappear. Schumann’s contrapuntal skills are on full display but the music never feels academic. Ultimately, this movement is about having a good time. About two-thirds in, Schumann pulls a hipster move by injecting a Bach-like fugue that reprises the first movement theme and has each musician banging the bells toward a grand finale.
What to listen for:
The piano as the charismatic host, ringleader, and occasional show-off.
Spirited exchanges between the strings and piano.
That epic viola solo in the second movement - our favorite moment.
Hopefully, crisp triplet notes in the third movement.
That valedictory grand fugue in the fourth movement finale.
Program notes by: Topher