Book Description

This book is concerned primarily with the development of the piano quartet and quintet from the mid-eighteenth century to the present day, but refers also to several important works for larger ensembles. Developments during the first four decades of the nineteenth century resulted not only in Schubert's renowned 'Trout' Quintet, but also in virtuoso compositions by Dussek, Hummel, Weber, and others, in which the piano predominates in a concerto-like role. Subsequently, Schumann's epoch-making quintet of 1842 initiated a broadly 'symphonic' style, which was adopted by many later composers, including Brahms, Dvorak, Cesar Frank, Faure, and Elgar. Amongst recent changes to the nature of the genres special consideration is given to works by Schoenberg, Messiaen, Stravinsky, and others, in which 'mixed' media are formed by combining wind instruments with the normal strings-and-piano ensembles. Within his broad historical narrative Professor Smallman provides descriptive analyses of key works, many with music examples, and also comments perceptively on local trends and developments.