Presents
George Chadwick
Piano Quintet in E flat Major
“Chadwick’s chamber compositions occupy an important and distinguished place in American music...” Cobbett’s Cyclopedic Survey of Chamber Music. Cobbett, himself, adds at the end of the article, “I, for one, am very grateful to Mr. Chadwick for the pleasure of his chamber music.”
"The opening movement, Allegro sostenuto, to Chadwick's Piano Quintet which dates from 1887, is rich and well written for all with a faint Brahmsian flavor. The slower Andante cantabile is gentle and its roots can clearly be found in the music of the late 19th Century Central European era. A charming Intermezzo, which serves instead of a scherzo, has many memorable touches. In the closing Allegro energico, the piano plays a moto perpetuo part over which the strings trumpet the various themes including a clever fugue."---The Chamber Music Journal
George Chadwick, (1854-1931), for long known as the Dean of American Composers, received his first music lessons from his brother. Soon he advanced so quickly he was serving as organist for the local church. Eventually, Chadwick found his way to the famous Leipzig Conservatory where in 1877 he studied with Carl Reinecke and Salomon Jadassohn. Never regarded as an extraordinary talent, soon after entering the Conservatory, his progress in composition astounded his teachers and everyone else. Several of his early works, written while there, won prizes and his name spread as far away as England. After graduating, he chose to further his studies by taking lessons privately with Joseph Rheinberger in Munich. He returned to Boston in 1880 and began a long career as a composer, conductor and teacher. Many important late 19th and early 20th century American composers were to study with him, including William Grant Still, Horatio Parker, Frederick Shepherd Converse and Arthur Farwell. Chadwick served as director of the New England Conservatory for 33 years.
Out of print for the better part of a century, we are pleased to reintroduce this important American piano quintet from the Romantic era. It should be of interest to both professionals and amateurs.
Parts: $39.95
