Robert Schumann: Complete Piano Trios, Quartet & Quintet

Featuring

Christophe Gaugué
Vincent Coq
Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian
Raphaël Pidoux
Catherine Montier
Trio Wanderer

Robert Schumann

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Composition History

Schumann's Piano Quintet and Piano Quartet were composed in September and October 1842, after he sought to combine his wife Clara Schumann's piano playing with string instruments.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded in September-October 2020 at the Théâtre Auditorium de Poitiers (TAP), whose exceptional acoustics are known for being among the best in Europe.

Composition History

Schumann's Phantasiestücke op. 88, originally titled 'trio ideas,' were revised in 1849 on the day of Chopin's death, and feature structural interlocking reflecting the 'wandering humours of Florestan and Eusebius'.

Compositional Technique

The Piano Quartet incorporates the chorale Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten and echoes of Frauenliebe und -leben in its opening movement, and features a fugal Finale.

Compositional Technique

The Piano Quintet's heroic key of E flat major and its C minor 'funeral march' allude to Beethoven's Sinfonia Eroica and Schubert's Piano Trio D929, while its concertante character recalls Beethoven's 'Emperor' Concerto.

Composer Biography

Robert Schumann, the composer, devoted the 1830s to piano music and music criticism, founding the eminent periodical Neue Zeitschrift für Musik.

Notable Performances

The Piano Quintet had its dazzling first public performance on January 8, 1843, at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, with Clara Schumann, the composer's wife, at the piano.