The Trout Quintet is the popular name for the piano quintet in A major by Franz Schubert. In Otto Erich Deutsch's catalogue of Schubert's works, it is D. 667. The work was composed in 1819 (Chusid 1997), when Schubert was only 22 years old; it was not published, however, until 1829, a year after his death (Gibbs 1997). A piano quintet is a chamber musical ensemble made up of one piano and four other instruments, or the name of a piece written for such a group. ... Franz Peter Schubert (January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828) was an Austrian composer. ... Otto Erich Deutsch (September 5, 1883 – November 23, 1967) was an Austrian musicologist. ...

Rather than the usual piano quintet lineup of piano and string quartet, Schubert's piece is written for piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass. The composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel had rearranged his own Septet for the same instrumentation (Notley 1997), and the Trout was actually written for a group of musicians coming together to play Hummel's work. A short grand piano, with the top up. ... The resident string quartet of the Library of Congress in 1963 A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string instruments—usually two violins, a viola and cello—or a piece written to be performed by such a group. ... The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ... The viola (in French, alto; in German Bratsche) is a string instrument played with a bow. ... The violoncello, almost always abbreviated to cello, or cello (the c is pronounced as the ch in cheese), is a bowed stringed instrument, the lowest-sounding member of the violin family. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ... Johann Nepomuk Hummel Johann Nepomuk Hummel or Jan Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 1778 – 17 October 1837) was a composer and virtuoso pianist of Austrian origin who was born in Pressburg (present-day Bratislava, Slovakia). ...

The piece is known as the Trout because the fourth movement is a set of variations on Schubert's earlier lied, "Die Forelle" (The Trout). Apparently, the quintet was written for Sylvester Paumgartner, of Steyr in Upper Austria, a wealthy music patron and amateur cellist, who also suggested that Schubert include a set of variations on the Lied (Chusid 1997). Movements which are a set of variations on a melody from one of his Lieder are found in two other pieces by Schubert: the Death and the Maiden Quartet and the Wanderer Fantasy. In music, variation is a formal technique where material is altered during repetition; reiteration with changes. ... Lied (plural Lieder) is a German word, literally meaning song; among English speakers, however, it is used primarily as a term for European classical music songs, also known as art songs. ... Die Forelle (The Trout) is a lively lieder or German art song, written by the Austrian composer Franz Schubert. ... The Death and the Maiden Quartet, written in 1824 by Franz Schubert and D. 810 in Otto Erich Deutschs thematic catalog of Schuberts works, is a string quartet in four movements: Allegro, in D minor and common time Andante con moto, in G minor and divided common (2... Wanderer Fantasy is the popular name for Franz Schuberts opus 15 (D. 760), a fantasy for piano solo in four movements, which follows the classical sonata form. ...

The rising sextuplet figure from the song's accompaniment is used as a unifying motive throughout the quintet, and related figures appear in four out of the five movements - all but the Scherzo. As in the song, the figure is usually introduced by the piano, ascending (Chusid 1997).

Synopsis

• 1. Allegro vivace in sonata form. As commonplace in works of the Classical genre, the exposition shifts from tonic to dominant; however, Schubert's harmonic language is more colourful and innovative, incorporating many mediants and submediants. This is evident right from the beginning of the piece: after stating the tonic for ten bars, the harmony shifts abrubtly into F major (the flat submediant) in the eleventh bar. The development section starts by a similar abrupt shift, from E major (at the end of the exposition) to C major. Harmonic movement is slow at first, but is fastened thereafter; towards the return of the first theme, the harmony modulates in ascending half tones. The recpaitulation begins in the subdominant, making any modulatory changes in the transition to the second theme unnecessary - a frequent phenomenon in early sonata form movements written by Schubert (Chusid 1997). It differs from the exposition only in omitting the opening bars, and another short section, before the closing theme.

• 2. Andante in F major (the flat submediant of the work's main key, A major). This movement is composed of two symmetrical sections, one being a transposed version of the other, except for some key changes, which allow the movement to end in the same key in which it began. Each section contains three themes in a sequence, the second of which is noted for its poignancy. The striking feature of this movement is its tonal layout: the tonality changes chromatically, in ascending half tones, according to the following scheme (some intermediate keys of lower structural significance have been omitted): F major - F sharp minor - G major - A flat major - A minor - F major. Such a tonal structure is revolutionary to the harmonic concept of Classical composers such as Mozart and Beethoven.

• 3. Scherzo: Presto. This movement also contains mediant tonalities, such as the ending of the first section of the Scherzo proper, which is in C major - the flat mediant.

• 4. Andantino - Allegretto in D major (the subdominant of the work's main key) - theme and variations on the Lied "Die Forelle". As typical of some other variation movements by Schubert (in contrast to Beethoven's style), the movements do not transform the original theme into new thematic material; rather, they concentrate on melodic decoration and changes of mood. In the first variations, each variation features the main theme played by a different instrument(s). Schubert's innovation and originality lies in the fifth variation, coming after the traditional variation in the minor key. Rather than returning immediately to the tonic major, Schubert begins this variation in the flat submediant (B flat major), and creates a series of modulations within the variation, eventually leading back to the movement's main key, at the beginning of the final six variation. A similar harmonic structure exists in two other variation movements by Schubert: the second movement of the piano sonata in A minor, D. 845; and the impromptu in B-flat major, D. 935 No. 3. The concluding variation is highly similar to the original Lied, and shares the same characteristic accompaniment in the piano, based on a musical motif picturing the trout appearing and disappearing in the water (depicted by rising and falling notes, respectively).

• 5. Allegro giusto. The basic structure of the Finale is in two symmetrical sections, similar to the second movement; however, the unusual chromaticism is absent here. Moreover, this time the second section is an exact transpositon of the first, with no alterations whatsoever, expect for some changes of octave register. Since a repeat sign is written for the first section, when listening to the movement, one hears almost exactly the same musical material, for a total of three times. Some listeners may find such an experience boring. Therefore, many performers choose to omit the repeat of the first section when playing. Although this movement lacks the shear chromaticism of the second movement, its own harmonic design is also innovative: the first section ends in D major, the subdominant. This is contradictory to the aesthethics of the Classical musical style, in which the first major harmonic event in a musical piece or movement, is the shift from tonic to dominant (or, more rarely, to mediant or submediant - but never to the subdominant) (Rosen 1988, pp. 359-360; Rosen 1997, pp. 25-27, 384).

Sonata form is a musical form that has been used widely since the early Classical period. ... The Classical period in Western music occurred from about 1730 through 1820, despite considerable overlap at both ends with preceding and following periods, as is true for all musical eras. ... The tonic is the first note of a musical scale, and in the tonal method of music composition it is extremely important. ... In music, the dominant is the fifth degree of the scale. ... For mediant in mathematics, see Mediant (mathematics) In music, the mediant is the third degree of the diatonic scale. ... In music, the submediant is the sixth degree of the scale. ... In music, the subdominant is the technical name for the fourth tonal degree of the diatonic scale. ... A scherzo (plural scherzi) is a name given to a piece of music or a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony. ... In music, variation is a formal technique where material is altered during repetition; reiteration with changes. ... Eight piano compositions composed in 1827 by Franz Schubert were published during the composers lifetime (or shortly thereafter) under the name Impromptu. ...

Musical Significance

As compared to other major chamber works by Schubert, such as the last three string quartets and the string quintet, the Trout Quintet is a more leisurely work, characterized by lower structural coherence, especially in its outer movements, and the Andante. These movements contain unusually long repetitions of previously stated material, only in a transposed tonality, and with little or no structural reworking aimed at generating an overall unified dramatic design ("mechanical" in Martin Chusid's words - Chusid 1997). The resident string quartet of the Library of Congress in 1963 A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string instruments—usually two violins, a viola and cello—or a piece written to be performed by such a group. ... The String Quintet in C major, D. 956, op. ... The term musical form is used in two related ways: a generic type of composition such as the symphony or concerto the structure of a particular piece, how its parts are put together to make the whole; this too can be generic, such as binary form or sonata form Musical...

The importance of the piece stems mainly from the use of an original and innovative harmonic language, rich in mediants and chromaticism, and from the timbral characteristics of the piece. As regards the latter, the Trout Quintet has a unique sonority among other chamber works for piano and strings. This is due mainly to the piano part, which during substantial lengths of the piece is concentrated on the highest register of the instrument, with both hands playing the same melodic line, an octave apart. Such writing occurs also in other chamber works by Schubert, such as the piano trios, but to a much lesser extent (Notley 1997; Chusid 1997). This writing is characteristic of Schubert's works for piano in four hands (Notley 1997), one of his most personal musical genres. Such timbral writing may have influenced the works of Romantic composers such as Chopin, who admired Schubert's music for piano in four hands (Rosen 1995, p. 390). For mediant in mathematics, see Mediant (mathematics) In music, the mediant is the third degree of the diatonic scale. ... In music, chromatic indicates the inclusion of notes not in the prevailing scale and is also used for those notes themselves (Shir-Cliff et al 1965, p. ... In music, timbre, also timber (from Fr. ... The era of Romantic music is defined as the period of European classical music that runs roughly from the early 1800s to the first decade of the 20th century, as well as music written according to the norms and styles of that period. ... Frédéric François Chopin as portrayed by Eugène Delacroix in 1838. ...

Depiction in TV Series

The British television sitcom Waiting for God used the opening of the Trout Quintet’s fifth movement as its theme music. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Waiting for God title card Waiting for God was the name of a situation comedy shown on BBC1 between 1990 and 1994. ...

Depiction in Literature

The Trout forms a major part of the plot of the novel An Equal Music written by Vikram Seth. It depicts the beauty of the composition and the challenges in playing it. (An excellent book. ... Vikram Seth (pronounced ), born June 20, 1952 is an Indian poet, novelist, travel writer, librettist, childrens writer, biographer and memoirist. ...

External Links

• Public Domain Score of the Quintet at IMSLP
• Audio of part of the fourth movement of the Trout Quintet in RealMedia format

RealMedia is a multimedia container format created by RealNetworks. ...

References

• Chusid, Martin (1997). "Schubert's chamber music: before and after Beethoven". In: Cristopher H. Gibbs [ed.], The Cambridge Companion to Schubert, Cambridge University Press: 174-192.
• Gibbs, Cristopher H. (1997). "German reception: Schubert's 'journey to immortality'". In: Cristopher H. Gibbs [ed.], The Cambridge Companion to Schubert, Cambridge University Press: 241-253.
• Notley, Margaret (1997). "Schubert's social music: the 'forgotten genres'". In: Cristopher H. Gibbs [ed.], The Cambridge Companion to Schubert, Cambridge University Press: 138-154.
• Rosen, Charles (1988). Sonata Forms, revised edition. W. W. Norton and Co.
• Rosen, Charles (1995). The Romantic Generation. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• Rosen, Charles (1997). The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, expanded edition. W. W. Norton and Co.