First up, the Lutoslawksi ‘ Subito’ , the composer’s last work , featured Satu Vanska in a firecracker showpiece .It had an electric , explosive opening that was shattering and sharp. The piano as played by Jumppanen is tempestuous and tumultuous ,in wild ,spiky dialogue with the strings which snap and snarl or, sometimes, sing. It is a sharp, fractured piece.
Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in G Minor Opus 57 , is one of his best-known chamber works. Like most piano quintets, it is written for piano and string quartet (two violins, viola and cello). Written just before the Nazis invaded the USSR, Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet is a harrowing and dramatic musical premonition of the coming horrors . The work is divided into five movements and usually performed as an ‘abstract’ piece .It can be regarded as one of Shostakovich’s ‘public’ pieces and won him the Stalin prize.
The opening Prelude featured lush lyrical rippling piano that soared and was exuberant .There is a shimmering dialogue between piano and quartet. The second movement ( Fugue) evokes the wandering ‘Dimitri’ motif as heard in Mussorgsky’s ‘Boris Godunov’ and has been described as ‘an expression of endless suffering’. Eventually it stumbles to an end. The opening of the third movement was haunting with the strings sounding like woodwind .There is a melancholy ‘singing’ feel‘ .The Intermezzo had a dreamlike elegiac feel .The fourth movement ( Scherzo Allegretto ) sounded like a wild, spiky dance culminating in a fight . The final Fifth movement ‘Allegretto,’ had distinctive pizzicato playing by the strings .It was melancholy in tone yet lyrical. The piano at times had jaunty ripples , catapulting up and down the keyboard while the quartet acted as support.
After interval came a delightful surprise.Christopher Moore spoke about his viola and we heard an arrangement of a Brahms clarinet sonata for viola and piano. It had lyrical, singing viola and Jumppanen on piano was feverishly passionate in his energetic playing .
The main work however of the second half was the Dvorak Piano Quintet No 2 in A Major Op 81. Bright and melodious and regarded as ‘one of the greatest pieces of chamber music in the canon’ , first performed in 1888.it combines Dvorak’s distinctive style of expressive lyricism with elements of Czech folk music. The piece was given an emphatic , impassioned performance. The first movement begins with a deliciously lyrical cello theme over piano accompaniment which is followed by a series of elaborate transformations .There are sudden changes from sharp and spiky back to lyrical and poignant and back to wild and dance like .The viola introduces the second theme which is another lyrical melody, but much busier than the cello’s stately line. Both themes are developed extensively by the first and second violins and the movement closes with a free recapitulation and an exuberant coda.
The second movement is marked ‘ Dumka’ a form that Dvořák also used in his ‘Dumky’ piano trio which features an exquisite piano theme separated by fast, happy interludes. It is exuberant at times with a Spanish feel , rippling piano and tempestuous swirls .The third movement is labelled ‘Furiant ‘ (a fast Bohemian folk dance ). It has a rippling, shimmering feel and superb piano playing . The cello and viola alternate a rhythmic pizzicato underneath the main tune of the first violin. The slower trio section of the scherzo is also expanded from the ‘Furiant ‘ theme, with the piano and violin alternating between the main melodies. There are many violin flurries. The fast Bohemian folk dance is repeated and the movement concludes very briskly.The Finale is delicate and star like with the piano birdlike at times trilling a repeated melody. The violin leads the theme into a fugue .There are some very melancholy sections leading to a frenetic, very powerful ending.
The ACO’s Piano Quintets concert plays the City Recital Hall between the 11th and 16th July and then tours nationally. Running time 2 hours (approx) including interval.
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