Piano Quintet (Elgar)
Encyclopedia
The Quintet in A minor for Piano and String Quartet, Op.
84 is a chamber work by Edward Elgar
.
He worked on the Quintet and two other major chamber pieces in the summer of 1918 while staying at Brinkwells near Fittleworth
in Sussex. W. H. "Billy" Reed
considered that all three were ‘influenced by the quiet and peaceful surroundings during that wonderful summer’.
The Quintet was first performed on 21 May 1919, by the pianist William Murdoch, the violinists Albert Sammons
and W. H. Reed, the violist Raymond Jeremy and the cellist Felix Salmond
. These players included some of the composer's musical confidantes – Reed worked with him on the Violin Concerto
and the Third Symphony
, and Salmond worked on the Cello Concerto
with him. Albert Sammons later made the first complete recording of the Violin Concerto.
The work is dedicated to Ernest Newman
, music critic of The Manchester Guardian.
:
In performance, the first movement takes about 14 minutes, the adagio a little under 12, and the last movement a little over 10, making this the longest of Elgar’s chamber works.
His wife's first reaction on hearing the three chamber works was 'E. writing wonderful new music', and more than fifty years later The Gramophone
agreed: 'Alice Elgar was quite right: it is a new urgency, pointed and refined by the discipline of writing chamber music, a discipline that clearly rejuvenated Elgar's imagination. It is big chamber music, with at times an almost orchestral sonority to it...'
The Quintet was first recorded by Ethel Hobday
with the Spencer Dyke Quartet
for the National Gramophonic Society in December 1925. Compton Mackenzie
suggested that Elgar himself should play the piano for the recording, but the composer refused the invitation replying, "I never play the pianoforte - I scramble through things orchestrally in a way that would madden with envy all existing pianists".
It was subsequently recorded electrically for HMV
by Harriet Cohen
and the Stratton Quartet
at the beginning of October 1933, immediately before the composer became seriously ill. Test pressings were rushed to Elgar's bedside; the pleasure he gained from them inspiring Fred Gaisberg
to record the Quintet as a Christmas present to the ailing composer.
The work took some years to establish itself in the repertoire, but in recent years it has been performed and recorded many times.
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
84 is a chamber work by Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
.
He worked on the Quintet and two other major chamber pieces in the summer of 1918 while staying at Brinkwells near Fittleworth
Fittleworth
Fittleworth is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located seven kilometres west from Pulborough on the A283 road and three miles south east from Petworth. The village has an Anglican church, a primary school and one pub, the Swan...
in Sussex. W. H. "Billy" Reed
William Henry Reed
William Henry "Billy" Reed was an English violinist, teacher, minor composer, conductor and biographer of Sir Edward Elgar...
considered that all three were ‘influenced by the quiet and peaceful surroundings during that wonderful summer’.
The Quintet was first performed on 21 May 1919, by the pianist William Murdoch, the violinists Albert Sammons
Albert Sammons
Albert Edward Sammons CBE was an English violinist, composer and later violin teacher. Almost self-taught on the violin, he had a wide repertoire as both chamber musician and soloist, although his reputation rests mainly on his association with British composers, especially Elgar...
and W. H. Reed, the violist Raymond Jeremy and the cellist Felix Salmond
Felix Salmond
Felix Adrian Norman Salmond was an English cellist and cello teacher who achieved success in both England and the United States of America.-Early life and career:...
. These players included some of the composer's musical confidantes – Reed worked with him on the Violin Concerto
Violin Concerto (Elgar)
Edward Elgar's Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61, is one of his longest orchestral compositions, and the last of his works to gain immediate popular success....
and the Third Symphony
Symphony No. 3 (Elgar)
Edward Elgar's Third Symphony was incomplete at the time of his death in 1934. Elgar left 130 pages of sketches which the British composer Anthony Payne worked on for many years, producing a complete symphony in 1997, officially known as "Edward Elgar: the sketches for Symphony No 3 elaborated by...
, and Salmond worked on the Cello Concerto
Cello Concerto (Elgar)
Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, his last notable work, is a cornerstone of the solo cello repertoire. Elgar composed it in the aftermath of the First World War, by which time his music had gone out of fashion with the concert-going public...
with him. Albert Sammons later made the first complete recording of the Violin Concerto.
The work is dedicated to Ernest Newman
Ernest Newman
Ernest Newman was an English music critic and musicologist. Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians describes him as "the most celebrated British music critic in the first half of the 20th century." His style of criticism, aiming at intellectual objectivity in contrast to the more subjective...
, music critic of The Manchester Guardian.
Movements
There are three movementsMovement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
:
- Moderato – Allegro
- Adagio
- Andante – Allegro
In performance, the first movement takes about 14 minutes, the adagio a little under 12, and the last movement a little over 10, making this the longest of Elgar’s chamber works.
His wife's first reaction on hearing the three chamber works was 'E. writing wonderful new music', and more than fifty years later The Gramophone
The Gramophone
Gramophone is a magazine published monthly in London by Haymarket devoted to classical music and jazz, particularly recordings. It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie...
agreed: 'Alice Elgar was quite right: it is a new urgency, pointed and refined by the discipline of writing chamber music, a discipline that clearly rejuvenated Elgar's imagination. It is big chamber music, with at times an almost orchestral sonority to it...'
The Quintet was first recorded by Ethel Hobday
Ethel Hobday
Ethel Hobday, née Sharpe was an Irish pianist, who became famous in chamber-music recitals especially in England, and was married to the violist Alfred Charles Hobday....
with the Spencer Dyke Quartet
Spencer Dyke Quartet
The Spencer Dyke Quartet was a string quartet musical ensemble active in England through the 1920s. It is best remembered now for a series of pioneering chamber music recordings made for the National Gramophonic Society.- Personnel :...
for the National Gramophonic Society in December 1925. Compton Mackenzie
Compton Mackenzie
Sir Compton Mackenzie, OBE was a writer and a Scottish nationalist.-Background:Compton Mackenzie was born in West Hartlepool, England, into a theatrical family of Mackenzies, but many of whose members used Compton as their stage surname, starting with his grandfather Henry Compton, a well-known...
suggested that Elgar himself should play the piano for the recording, but the composer refused the invitation replying, "I never play the pianoforte - I scramble through things orchestrally in a way that would madden with envy all existing pianists".
It was subsequently recorded electrically for HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
by Harriet Cohen
Harriet Cohen
Harriet Cohen CBE was a British pianist.-Biography:Harriet Cohen was born in London and studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music under Tobias Matthay, having won the Ada Lewis scholarship at the age of 12. She made her debut at a Chappell's Sunday concert at the Queen's Hall a year later...
and the Stratton Quartet
Stratton Quartet
The Stratton String Quartet was a well known British musical ensemble active during the 1930s and 1940s. They were specially associated with the performance of British music, of which they gave numerous premieres, and were a prominent feature in the wartime calendar of concerts at the National...
at the beginning of October 1933, immediately before the composer became seriously ill. Test pressings were rushed to Elgar's bedside; the pleasure he gained from them inspiring Fred Gaisberg
Fred Gaisberg
Frederick William Gaisberg was an American-born musician, recording engineer and one of the earliest classical music producers for the gramophone. He himself did not use the term 'producer' and was not an impresario like his protégé Walter Legge of EMI or an innovator like John Culshaw of Decca...
to record the Quintet as a Christmas present to the ailing composer.
The work took some years to establish itself in the repertoire, but in recent years it has been performed and recorded many times.
Recordings
- In 2003, the BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
‘Building a Library’ feature recommended a recording by the Sorrel Quartet (Gina McCormack, Catherine Yates, Sarah-Jane Bradley and Helen Thatcher) and Ian Brown on the ChandosChandos RecordsChandos Records is an independent classical music recording company based in Colchester, Essex, in the United Kingdom, founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.- Background :...
label. - Older recordings include, from the 78 era, the Stratton QuartetStratton QuartetThe Stratton String Quartet was a well known British musical ensemble active during the 1930s and 1940s. They were specially associated with the performance of British music, of which they gave numerous premieres, and were a prominent feature in the wartime calendar of concerts at the National...
/Harriet CohenHarriet CohenHarriet Cohen CBE was a British pianist.-Biography:Harriet Cohen was born in London and studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music under Tobias Matthay, having won the Ada Lewis scholarship at the age of 12. She made her debut at a Chappell's Sunday concert at the Queen's Hall a year later...
version mentioned above, and from the LP years, John OgdonJohn OgdonJohn Andrew Howard Ogdon was an English pianist and composer.-Biography:Ogdon was born in Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, and attended Manchester Grammar School, before studying at the Royal Northern College of Music between 1953 and 1957, where his fellow students under Richard Hall...
and the Allegri QuartetAllegri QuartetThe Allegri Quartet is a string quartet that was founded in 1953 by Eli Goren and William Pleeth.It is Britain's longest-running chamber music ensemble, sustained over six decades by successive generations of performers....
, reissued on CD by Dutton and EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
respectively. A recording made c 1963 for Delta Records by the Aeolian QuartetAeolian QuartetThe Aeolian Quartet was a highly reputed string quartet based in London , with a long international touring history and presence, an important recording and broadcasting profile. It was the successor of the pre-War Stratton Quartet...
, successor of the Stratton Quartet, includes Watson ForbesWatson ForbesWatson Douglas Buchanan Forbes was a Scottish violist and classical music arranger...
(viola) (with Leonard Cassini, piano), a member of the Strattons in the 1933 recording, so that there is a continuity of tradition in this performance.
External links
- Page on the Piano Quintet at Elgar.org
- The Piano Quintet by Edward Elgar Short biography of Elgar, and detailed analysis of the Piano Quintet by James Gwynn Staples.