Presents
Henrique Oswald
Piano Quartet No.2 in G Major, Op.26
Henrique Oswald (1852-1931) Oswald was born in Rio de Janeiro. His father was a Swiss-German, his mother Italian. Shortly after his birth his family moved to São Paulo. His mother taught music and he had his first lessons with her. Subsequently he studied composition at the Music Conservatory of Florence with Giuseppe Buonamici. He was active as a conductor and music director both in Europe and Brazil. He was a prolific composer of chamber music: his list includes a violin sonata, 2 cello sonatas, 3 piano trios, 2 piano quartets a piano quintet, 4 string quartets and a string octet.
The Piano Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 26 by Henrique Oswald was composed in the second half of 1898 while he was still living in Florence. It was dedicated to his friend Emilio Giorgetti. It belonged to a group of compositions he composed which he frequently performed at his recitals. Oswald vividly recalled that Saint-Saëns, after hearing the work at one of these recitals, came up to him and said “It is a piece of a master and above all very personal. You are an artist, monsieur” It is in five movement: I. Allegro moderato, II. Andante con moto (Tema e variações (Theme and variations), III. Prestissimo (Scherzo), IV. Adagio (Romanza) and V. Molto allegro. The very romantic begining of the first movement has some very interesting upward chromatic passages which send the music soaring. The music is upbeat and optimistic. The theme to the second movement is a somber march like subject with a touch of the funereal. The four variations provide excellent contract, all different in mood and tempo. The bright and exciting Prestissimo sounds like something Saint Saens himself could have composed. No wonder he was impressed with the work. The fourth movement is a kind of updated song without words of the sort Mendelssohn might have written had he been alive in 1898. The orchestral and symphonic-sounding finale bursts out of the gate with a tremendous plethora of sound.
Our edition is based on the manuscript found in the library of the Instituto de Estudos Brasileiros (IEB) of the University of Sao Paolo (USP). This is a first class work which would do well in the concert hall and can be managed by experience amateur players as well.
Parts: $39.95
