After last week’s overview of Dvořák’s string quartets, it’s the turn of the other trios, quartets, quintets, and the sextet.
Three: the most famous of the piano trios is a collection of Dumky and known appropriately as the Dumky Trio. But, as with the string quartets, there’s hidden gold elsewhere. This is the F minor trio:
Allegro ma non troppo: 0:00
Allegretto grazioso, meno mosso: 14:41
Poco adagio: 22:01
Finale: Allegro con brio: 31:54
Four: there are two piano quartets by Dvořák, but since Hugh and I were struggling to remember the name of this piece last week – and also because it’s a very attractive piece – here are the composer’s five Bagatelles, scored for the unusual combination of two violins, cello, and a rather wheezy harmonium.
0:00 Allegretto scherzando
2:59 Tempo di minuetto: Grazioso
6:15 Allegretto scherzando
9:13 Canon: Andante con moto
12:42 Poco allegro
Five: returning to the piano and string ensemble for a moment, the composer’s second piano quintet (the first is a very early work) vies with even the American Quartet for the title of Dvořák’s most popular piece of chamber music:
Allegro, ma non tanto | 00:00
Dumka: Andante con moto | 14:36
Scherzo (Furiant): Molto vivace | 28:39
Finale: Allegro | 32:57
Six: this sextet – the composer’s only essay in the medium – is scored for two violins, two violas, and two cellos. It was the first piece by Dvořák to be performed outside Bohemia; performed with no less a significant figure than Joseph Joachim leading the ensemble:
Allegro moderato 0:00
Dumka: Poco allegretto 11:22
Furiant: Presto 17:37 IV.
Finale: Tema con variazioni. Allegretto grazioso, quasi andantino 22:12
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