Joachim Raff - Piano Quintet Op. 107 IV. Allegro Brioso, Patetico (4/4)

Piano Quintet by Joachim Raff. Performed by Il Trittico with David Greenless on the Viola and Anahit Kurtikyan on the violin.

It can be argued with some success that the present tendency to judge Raff by his orchestral, and particularly his symphonic, output is doing him a disservice and detracts from Raff's claim to a permanent place in the musical pantheon. The concentration on his orchestral oeuvre, for example, ignores the fact that he wrote much more music for chamber ensembles than he did for orchestral forces. An examination of many of his chamber works shows a consistency of inspiration not found in some of the symphonies.

One such chamber master work is Raff's Piano Quintet in a op.107- called by him a Grand Quintuor to emphasise the symphonic scale of the work. Although Raff wrote a Fantasy for piano and string quartet, the Piano Quintet shares with the Cello Sonata the distinction of being the sole example of its genre in Raff's chamber output. Perhaps one reason for its uniqueness is that he found writing it difficult. He wrote to his wife: "I can say that my strength increases with my task and this is necessary, for it is more difficult than a symphony or a string quartet, and I can well understand why even Beethoven kept his hands from it; since Schumann's sole quintet, nothing in this line has been accomplished".

On hearing the completed Quintet, Raff's great friend the conductor and pianist Hans von Bülow wrote to him: "I cannot but admit that your quintet is your best, and the most remarkable work in the field of chamber music since Beethoven". Dedicated to the King of the Netherlands, the piece was completed by Raff in 1862 and published by Schuberth two years later. Despite Raff's symphonic pretensions and its 35 minute length, the Quintet is a model of the best in his chamber music - unendingly melodious, each movement is built on classic principles and the whole work is in perfect proportion, employing and demanding great technical skill without either composer or performer degenerating into mere virtuosity.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Joachim Raff Piano Quintet Op 107 IV Allegro Brioso
• Patetic

[otterhouse]

Thanks for uploading the whole Quintet. Still have to listen to his symphonies, n5, "leonore" had some very good reviews lately. Greetings from the Netherlands, Rolf