Presents
Antonin Dvorak
Piano Quintet No.1 in A Major, Op.5
Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) needs no introduction. He is one of the best known composers of all time. However, today, his fame rests upon only a few of his works which are repeatedly performed in concert such as his Symphony No.9, The New World and in the realm of chamber music his Op.96 string quartet, The American, and his Piano Quintet in A Major, Op.81. Almost no one knows that fifteen years before he composed his famous piano quintet in 1887, he had tried his hand at composing a piano quintet also in the same key.
Now known as Piano Quintet No.1 in A Major, Op.5, it dates from 1872. Dvorak, initally was displeased with the final result and is said to have burned the manuscript. However, his friend the pianist Ludevit Prochazka, who had taken part in a private performance of it, had kept his copy. Dvorak later approached Prochazka and asked to see it, ultimately concluding that his initial judgment of the work was made in haste and that it was worth salvaging. While no one would maintain that it is in anyway the equal of his second piano quintet, it is nonetheless an interesting and valuable work, which highlight's his skill in handling the strings and piano--an amazing feat because at the time, Dvorak did not have access to a piano. Also interesting is how in many ways this work anticipates the instrumental treatment one finds in the second quintet. However, it should be emphasized that in this period of his life, the 1860s and early 1870s, he was not particularly interested in Czech melodies and dance rhythms and one does not find that in his early works. Instead, at this time, one can hear the influence of Liszt and Wagner, under whose baton Dvorak once played as a violist, and to a lesser extent Schubert.
Parts: $39.95
