Progetto Martha Argerich

italiano

Works

Dimitri Shostakovic

Quintet for Piano, Two Violins, Viola and Cello, Op. 57

 

Together with the Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello, Op. 63 (1944), the Quintet for Piano, Two Violins, Viola and Cello, Op. 57, is to be considered one of Dmitri Shostakovich’s most important instrumental works and a high point in twentieth-century chamber music. It is well known that Shostakovich was a fine pianist, and the main motivation behind the composition of the Quintet, Op. 57, was his close collaboration with the Beethoven String Quartet, which had given, in 1938, the premiere of his String Quartet No. 1. The quintet is divided into five movements – by no means an unusual format for this composer – and it opens with a vaguely Bach-inspired Prelude (Lento); this leads into a substantial Fugue (Adagio) – a desolate, sorrowful piece that is one of the work’s great moments. A very short Scherzo (Allegretto) that pretends to be peasant-like and relaxed is followed by another extraordinary movement: the Intermezzo (Lento) is quiet in character but exceptionally expressive, charged with an internal tension that breaks only with the arrival of the Finale (Allegretto), which is in rigorous sonata form.

listen to Real Media recording

1. Prélude (Lento)
2. Fugue (Adagio)
3. Scherzo (Allegretto)
4. Intermezzo (Lento)
5. Finale (Allegretto)

Performers

Performance