Bohuslav Martinů: Les rondes
Martinů’s Les rondes glides between second-hand bits of Harlem, memories of Moravia, and interwar Paris.
Tag: Chamber Music
Claude Debussy: String Quartet in G minor
Claude Debussy released his String Quartet in 1894 with the designation Op. 10 and the words “1er Quatuor” (first quartet) on the cover. Both labels are misleading, since he hadn’t actually published nine previous compositions and never wrote a second quartet.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Clarinet Quintet in F-sharp minor, Op. 10
The Clarinet Quintet, Op. 10, is one of Coleridge-Taylor’s first mature pieces, dating from 1895. He wrote it in response to a challenge from his teacher, who remarked that it would be impossible to write a clarinet quintet without being influenced by Johannes Brahms.
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Trio in C minor, Op. 9, No. 3
In 1798 Beethoven thought the three trios he had just published as Op. 9 were his best works to date.
Johannes Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25
After the first rehearsal of Brahms’s Piano Quartet in Vienna, a notoriously grumpy violinist hugged him and said, “this is Beethoven’s heir!”
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op. 96, “Archduke”
Beethoven was deeply indignant at the very idea of noble birth. The son of a town musician, he resented those of higher class, claiming a kind of artistic nobility for himself.
Maurice Ravel: Violin Sonata No. 2 in G major
Ravel’s Violin Sonata No. 2 was a long time in the making, with the first ideas put down as early as 1922 and the premiere in 1927—all for about 17 minutes of music. He struggled with depression as his musical output slowed to a trickle.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 5, No. 2
Beethoven’s second cello sonata has an unusual form: its first two movements are combined, beginning with an Adagio and then transitioning into a more typical Allegro.
Gabriel Fauré: Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 15
Today’s audience might wonder what made Fauré’s dreamy First Piano Quartet sound so new and different at the time.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 1, No. 3
The C-minor Piano Trio was the controversial piece in the Op. 1 set—Haydn criticized it, and Beethoven thought his teacher was jealous of it.