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Quintet in A major for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, B. 155, Op. 81
Antonín Dvořák
  • Born September 8, 1841, in Nelahozeves, Bohemia
  • Died May 1, 1904, in Prague
  • Composed in 1887
  • First CMS performance on December 11, 1970, by pianist Richard Goode, violinists Arnold Steinhardt and John Dalley, violist Michael Tree, and cellist David Soyer.
  • Duration: 38 minutes

For many years Dvořák worked as a professional musician in Prague, first in dance bands, and then eventually as part of the orchestra in the Provisional Theatre, which opened in 1862 as a home for Czech arts in the Austro-Hungarian empire. It was during his time as a member of its viola section that he had the opportunity to play under the baton of a touring Richard Wagner, and later under Bedřich Smetana, who became the orchestra’s conductor in 1866. Composing was something Dvořák did on the side, earning occasional subsidiary income from his works, but by 1871 he made the decision to leave performing to focus on writing. In an effort to distinguish himself, Dvořák destroyed earlier works he found unsatisfactory and worked toward cultivating a new voice infused with Slavic idioms that slowly began to capture attention. Among those who took notice was none other than Johannes Brahms, who for a few years had judged the applications for the Austrian State Stipendium, an award for which Dvořák applied annually. In 1877, Brahms wrote to his publisher, Fritz Simrock:

As for the state stipendium, for several years I have enjoyed works sent in by Antonín Dvořák (pronounced Dvorschak) of Prague. This year he has sent works including a volume of 10 duets for two sopranos and piano, which seem to me very pretty, and a practical proposition for publishing. . . .Play them through and you will like them as much as I do. As a publisher, you will be particularly pleased with their piquancy. . . .Dvořák has written all manner of things: operas (Czech), symphonies, quartets, piano pieces. In any case, he is a very talented man. Moreover, he is poor! I ask you to think about it! The duets will show you what I mean, and could be a ‘good article.’

The support and mentorship Brahms offered Dvořák changed his career forever, akin to what Robert Schumann’s endorsement had done for Brahms in his own youth. This chain of influence, from Schumann to Brahms and on to Dvořák, also happened to be reflected in a genre to which each of them contributed a zenithal example: the piano quintet.

Schumann’s piano quintet is broadly considered the first of the modern, mature iterations of the form. His approach was conversational, rather than simply trading solos and supporting accompaniment. Twenty years later, Brahms followed with his piano quintet. Both had infused their quintets with the scope and drama of a symphony, while keeping the scale intimate.

Dvořák’s first piano quintet, Op. 5, was ultimately scrapped after more than one attempt. His second effort became Op. 81, a work that opens quietly with a gently rocking duo between the piano and cello in an exchange that sounds more like the middle of an ongoing idea than a beginning. Suddenly, the rest of the ensemble abruptly enters, nearly catching the listener off-guard as the music is propelled by a brilliant, shimmering urgency. The second movement is built around a traditional Slavic musical form called a dumka, which is pensive and shadowed. The upbeat Scherzo styled as a furiant, a rapid Bohemian dance, alters the melancholic mood before the remarkable conclusion that juxtaposes the drama of fugue with a quiet chorale.

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Kathryn Bacasmot writes about music and is a regular program annotator for CMS.

Quintet in A major for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, B. 155, Op. 81
Antonín Dvořák
  • Born September 8, 1841, in Nelahozeves, Bohemia
  • Died May 1, 1904, in Prague
  • Composed in 1887
  • First CMS performance on December 11, 1970, by pianist Richard Goode, violinists Arnold Steinhardt and John Dalley, violist Michael Tree, and cellist David Soyer.
  • Duration: 38 minutes

For many years Dvořák worked as a professional musician in Prague, first in dance bands, and then eventually as part of the orchestra in the Provisional Theatre, which opened in 1862 as a home for Czech arts in the Austro-Hungarian empire. It was during his time as a member of its viola section that he had the opportunity to play under the baton of a touring Richard Wagner, and later under Bedřich Smetana, who became the orchestra’s conductor in 1866. Composing was something Dvořák did on the side, earning occasional subsidiary income from his works, but by 1871 he made the decision to leave performing to focus on writing. In an effort to distinguish himself, Dvořák destroyed earlier works he found unsatisfactory and worked toward cultivating a new voice infused with Slavic idioms that slowly began to capture attention. Among those who took notice was none other than Johannes Brahms, who for a few years had judged the applications for the Austrian State Stipendium, an award for which Dvořák applied annually. In 1877, Brahms wrote to his publisher, Fritz Simrock:

As for the state stipendium, for several years I have enjoyed works sent in by Antonín Dvořák (pronounced Dvorschak) of Prague. This year he has sent works including a volume of 10 duets for two sopranos and piano, which seem to me very pretty, and a practical proposition for publishing. . . .Play them through and you will like them as much as I do. As a publisher, you will be particularly pleased with their piquancy. . . .Dvořák has written all manner of things: operas (Czech), symphonies, quartets, piano pieces. In any case, he is a very talented man. Moreover, he is poor! I ask you to think about it! The duets will show you what I mean, and could be a ‘good article.’

The support and mentorship Brahms offered Dvořák changed his career forever, akin to what Robert Schumann’s endorsement had done for Brahms in his own youth. This chain of influence, from Schumann to Brahms and on to Dvořák, also happened to be reflected in a genre to which each of them contributed a zenithal example: the piano quintet.

Schumann’s piano quintet is broadly considered the first of the modern, mature iterations of the form. His approach was conversational, rather than simply trading solos and supporting accompaniment. Twenty years later, Brahms followed with his piano quintet. Both had infused their quintets with the scope and drama of a symphony, while keeping the scale intimate.

Dvořák’s first piano quintet, Op. 5, was ultimately scrapped after more than one attempt. His second effort became Op. 81, a work that opens quietly with a gently rocking duo between the piano and cello in an exchange that sounds more like the middle of an ongoing idea than a beginning. Suddenly, the rest of the ensemble abruptly enters, nearly catching the listener off-guard as the music is propelled by a brilliant, shimmering urgency. The second movement is built around a traditional Slavic musical form called a dumka, which is pensive and shadowed. The upbeat Scherzo styled as a furiant, a rapid Bohemian dance, alters the melancholic mood before the remarkable conclusion that juxtaposes the drama of fugue with a quiet chorale.

---

Kathryn Bacasmot writes about music and is a regular program annotator for CMS.