March / April 2016

A Brief Look at Piano Sextets

Keep in mind that this blog is about the music which we print, so this is not a survey of all of the piano sextets ever composed. Unlike the Piano Quintet, the Piano Sextet is not something which most chamber music composers wrote and as a result there are hardly any to speak of. And, sadly, one almost never hears them performed live. Still, amateurs and daring professionals should not overlook this combination, for there are several rewarding works. Perhaps the most famous of the lot is that by Felix Mendelssohn, but we do not, at the moment, offer it as it is readily available.

Proceeding in alphabetical order, first we a the Piano Sextet in f sharp minor, Op.8 by William Sterndale Bennett. Felix Mendelssohn, who not only knew Bennett but was a good friend, had this to say of him: I think him the most promising young musician I know." William Sterndale Bennett (1816-1875) was born in English city of Sheffield, the son of an organist. He studied piano and composition at the Royal Academy of Music. As noted, he met and befriended Mendelssohn, who first heard him perform in London when Bennett was 17. His piano technique was such that during concert tours in Germany, he quickly gained the reputation as one of the finest pianists in Europe. Robert Schumann praised his playing and musicality quite highly. Bennett settled in London, devoting himself chiefly to teaching, eventually becoming a Professor of Music at Cambridge University. He also served as chief conductor of the London Philharmonic and later as Director of the Royal Academy of Music. Owing to his professional duties, his latter years were not creatively fertile, and what he then wrote was scarcely equal to the productions of his youth. The principal charm of Bennett's compositions (not to mention his absolute mastery of the musical form) consists in the tenderness of their conception, rising occasionally to the sweetest lyrical intensity. Except for opera, Bennett tried his hand at almost all the different forms of vocal and instrumental writing.

The Sextet was completed in 1838 after a lengthy visit to Germany and much time spent with his friend Mendelssohn, then generally considered Europe's greatest living composer. It is hardly surprising that Mendelssohn's influence can clearly be heard in the music, though, of course, the treatment is original and the ideas are fresh. The big opening Allegro moderato ma con passione begins with a sad theme introduced by the first violin. After a brief interlude with the strings, the piano develops it further before the strings join in again to finish the development against a sparkling accompaniment part in the piano. Felix could not have done better. The second theme is also lyrical and quite fetching. The second movement, Scherzo, quasi presto, has a questioning subject for its main theme, given out by the strings, the piano answers. The second theme, given out by the strings, briefly interrupts the proceedings. The gorgeous trio section is entrusted almost entirely to the strings. It presents a fine contrast. The finale, Allegro assai ed energico, has a very Mendelssohnian melody for its main theme. It is first given out by the piano. It becomes even more luscious when the strings join in. Captivating and exciting, the music rushes along with great energy to its exciting close.  Bennett also produced an alternative second cello part for the bass.

From Mikhail Glinka (1804-57) we have two works for this combination. Glinka is commonly regarded as the founder of Russian nationalism in music. His influence on composers such as Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin and Mussorgsky was considerable. As a child, he had some lessons from the famous Irish virtuoso pianist John Field who was living in Petersburg, but his association with music remained purely amateur, until visits to Europe which began in 1830. In both Italy and Germany, he was able to formally study and improve his compositional technique. His music offered a synthesis of Western operatic form with Russian melody, while his instrumental music was a combination of the traditional and the exotic.

The first work is his Grand Sextet for Piano, String Quartet and Bass in E flat Major. It dates1832 during a period in which Glinka was residing in Milan and preoccupied with the idea writing an opera. Taking in an opera at La Scala as often as he could, Glinka came under the thrall of several Italian composers, in particular Donizetti. He later related that the piano part to the Sextet was written with his Italian doctor’s daughter in mind. He had been infatuated with her, and though an amateur, she was a brilliant pianist with a sparkling technique. As for the melodic content and overall structure, the influence of Italian opera can be felt throughout, but especially in the middle movement. The opening Allegro is a huge movement which is literally brimming with gorgeous melodies and good opportunities for all of the voices. The middle movement, Andante, begins with a lengthy introduction, sounding somewhat of Chopin. It is calm and introspective. The middle section (where our sound-bite starts) begins as a lovely duet in the violins, later the lower voices join in. There is no pause between the Andante and the Finale, Allegro con spirito. Excitement is created immediately by rumbling passages in the piano. Then the  jubilant main theme bursts forth. The middle section consists of a lively polacca. Here then is a really good work for this ensemble which should be of interest to music-makers everywhere. Glinka also wrote a second work for the same combination, perhaps immediately before or after the Sextet and it, too, dates from 1832. The Divertimento Brillante is in one big movement with four contrasting sections. Glinka, in his memoirs, wrote that he had intended the piano part for a Miss Pollini, one of his students who apparently was a superb pianist, judging from the technical demands found in the piano part. The melodic material comes from the opera La Sonnambula by his friend Vincezo Bellini. The work is in one long movement and has an introduction followed by four contrasting sections. The most impressive is the brilliant finale from which the work, no doubt, takes its name.

From Paul Juon we have his Piano Sextet in f minor, Op.22. Paul Juon (1872-1940) was the son of Swiss parents who emigrated to Moscow where he was born. Educated at the Moscow German High School, he entered the Moscow Conservatory where he studied violin with Jan Hrimaly and composition with Anton Arensky and Sergei Taneyev. After graduating, he went to Berlin for further composition instruction from Woldemar Bargiel (we have published Bargiel's Piano Trio No.1). In 1906, after holding various posts in Russia, Juon was invited by Joseph Joachim head, of the prestigious Berlin Hochschule für Musik, to be a Professor of Composition. It was a post he held until 1934 at which time he moved to Switzerland, where lived for the rest of his life. He is widely regarded as the link between Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky.  In his early music, one can hear the influence of his Russian homeland and schooling. Of course, Juon recognized that though he had been born in Russia and schooled there, he was a still foreigner living among Russians. His second period is more cosmopolitan and is in tune with the contemporary Central European trends of the early 20th century. Ultimately, it is hard to characterize his music as Russian or German, Romantic, Modern or Folkloric, because one can find all of these elements in his music. During his lifetime, Juon was widely regarded as an important composer and his works were given frequent performance throughout Europe. Chamber music plays a large part of his total output which numbers more than 100 works.

The Op.22 Sextet in c minor for piano, two violins, viola and 2 cellos dates from 1902 and is in five movements. (It is also available for Cello and Bass rather than 2 Cellos) The huge first movement, Moderato, begins with a short piano introduction before the strings join and present the main theme, a lush, lovely melody. The lyrical second theme shows the influence of Brahms. In the next three movements—Andante quasi allegretto, Menuetto and Intermezzo—Juon sets a theme and a set of eight variations. In the Andante, the theme, perhaps of Russian origin, is presented and is followed by five variations. The sixth and seventh variation appear in the Menuetto and the last variation is heard in the Intermezzo. The titles of the movements are rather surprising as the Menuetto clearly is a scherzo and not a minuet while the variation of the Intermezzo is quite robust, and almost sounds like a military march. The finale, Allegro non troppo, once again begins in Brahmsian vein with the strings introducing a triumphant and energetic main subject which carries all before it. We believe this is a work of the first order, a masterpiece and strongly feel it should be brought to the concert hall, but amateurs should not miss the opportunity to play it as well.

Sergei Lyapunov (1859-1924). studied piano and composition at the Moscow Conservatory with Sergei Taneyev. He then moved to St. Petersburg, where he became friends with the composers of the Nationalist School, in particular Balakirev. He eventually became a professor of piano at the Petersburg Conservatory, and in 1893, along with Liadov and Balakirev, was commissioned by the Imperial Geographical Society to collect folksongs from the northern provinces of the Russian empire. The bulk of his work is for piano and shows the influence of Liszt. At the same time, however, he was firmly in the Russian nationalist school formed by Balakirev and Rimsky-Korsakov. Toward the end of his life, he was widely considered the foremost living composer of the Nationalist School.

His Sextet for Piano, String Quartet and Bass, Op.63 was composed in 1915 and revised in 1921 and is the sole significant piece of chamber music he composed. Although there are other piano sextets of the same instrumentation, probably only the Mendelssohn and the Glinka sextets would have been known to him. The big first movement, Allegro maestoso, makes a very strong impression. It begins with a somber, folksong-like melody. As the movement is developed the music becomes more passionate. A second theme sounds even more Russian than the first, and reminds one of music from the Orthodox Church. The second movement is a sparkling, Scherzo, allegro vivace. One can hear echoes of some of Korsakov’s favorite rhythmic patterns, particularly those used in Schererazade, yet the music in no way sounds derivative or imitative. A crystalline quality is created by the tonal registers in which he writes for the individual voices. A long, but beautiful, slow movement. Nocturne, follows. The writing is very romantic, the high point coming with a fetching cello solo which when when the others join in reminds one of music which would not have been out of place in a Russian opera set in Central Asia. The opening bars to the finale, Allegro risoluto, have a hard-driving rhythm and a Brahmsian tonal flavor. By contrast, the second subject is intensely lyrical. The powerful coda, in which both themes battle it out for supremacy, makes a deep impression

Perhaps no composer, more than George Onslow (1784-1853), illustrates the fickleness of fame. Onslow was born and lived his entire life in France, the son of an English father and French mother. His chamber music, during his own lifetime and up to the end of the 19th century, was held in the highest regard, particularly in Germany, Austria and England where he was regularly placed in the front rank of composers. His work was admired by both Beethoven and Schubert, while Schumann, perhaps the foremost music critic during the first part of the 19th century, regarded Onslow’s chamber music on a par with that of Mozart. Haydn and Beethoven. Mendelssohn was also of this opinion. However, after the First World War, his music, along with that of so many other fine composers, fell into oblivion and up until 1984, the bicentennial of his birth, he remained virtually unknown.

The Sextet in a minor Op. 77bis came about when Onslow decided to arrange his Op.77 Nonet. Nonets are rarely performed and this fact was certainly not lost upon Onslow or his publisher. Hence, in the autumn of 1848, Onslow arranged the Nonet for a Sextet for Piano, Winds and Bass or for Piano and Strings. The Grand Sextour, as it was called, was actually published before the Nonet and it was in this version that the composition became better known. The opening Allegro spirituoso begins in heroic manner. Onslow's talent for instrumentation is in evidence here, achieving the difficult tonal balance between the piano and the strings. The second movement, though marked Minuetto, is one in name only. Its agitato subtitle contraindicates any kind of a minuet. The trio section features a cheerful melody. The third movement, Tema con variazioni begins as an Andantino con moto. The theme is treated at some length being presented in sections. The piano takes the first eight bars, with the other instruments contributing dabs of colour. In the next eight bars, the process is reversed, with the theme shared among the ensemble. In 9/8 time, Variation I likewise alternates between the instruments throughout, passing the theme bar by bar between the piano and the quintet. In Variation II, the piano and the wind quartet alternate in longer eight-bar phrases. Variation III mixes everything together in alternating virtuoso flourishes. Variation IV presents most impressive virtuoso fireworks for the piano and then the flute. Variation V is in the tragic minor. The theme of the Finale, Allegretto quasi allegro, begins in the piano with almost elegiac gentleness; when the strings enter, the music becomes exuberant and jovial.

Felix Weingartner (1863-1942) was born in Zara, Dalmatia, today's Zadar, Croatia, to Austrian parents. In 1883, he went to the Leipzig Conservatory where he studied composition with Carl Reinecke. He also studied privately with Franz Liszt in Weimar. Weingartner was one of the most famous and successful conductors of his time, holding positions in Hamburg, Mannheim, Danzig, Munich, Berlin and Vienna, where he succeeded Gustav Mahler as Director of the Imperial Opera. Despite his demanding career as a conductor, Weingartner, like Mahler, thought of himself equally as a composer and devoted considerable time to composition. He wrote several symphonies, numerous operas, some instrumental concertos, and a considerable amount of chamber music, including four string quartets, a piano sextet and a string quintet. Additionally he wrote a great number of vocal works and instrumental sonatas. Though many of his works originally achieved a fair amount acclaim, they quickly disappeared from the concert stage. It is only in the past few years that their excellence has been rediscovered.

His Piano Sextet e minor, Op.33 was composed in 1904. It is for Piano, String Quartet and Bass. This is a dark, brooding late romantic work written on a big scale. The first theme to the opening movement, Allegro appassionato, is a powerful, striving subject which dissipates before achieving a climax. Rather it leads to the dramatic second theme which is which is hopeful and optimistic. The second movement, Allegretto, begins as an intermezzo. The striking main theme is a lopsided, grotesque dance of the marionettes, accentuated by the rhythm. The second subject, in the violins, couldn't be more different,  sweet and highly romantic. A third melody is calmer but also lovely. A slow movement, Adagio, comes next. Weingartner instructs that it is to be played as if improvising but in tempo. It begins with a long piano introduction which certainly creates the exact mood of a pianist improvising. Gradually, and quite softly, the strings enter, embellishing but not taking center stage from the piano. Finally, the piano fades into the background as the strings begin to rise. (our sound-bite starts here) This leads to a quicker middle section, followed by a highly dramatic episode. The massive finale is simply titled Danza Funebre, with no tempo marking. The pounding introductory measures give no hint of the sad funereal dance which follows. Once can almost visualize a procession. From funereal the music moves on to the macbre. The gloom is only lightened briefly in the middle section which has a more elegiac quality. This is a superb work, not to be missed on any piano sextet evening.

You can hear soundbites from each movement on our website and if you desire purchase the parts from Edition Silvertrust by clicking on the links above.