Piano Quintet
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Play excerpts of the Piano Quintet as performed by Suzuki and Friends (Hidetaro Suzuki, violin; Nancy Agres, viola; Dennis McCafferty, cello; L. Bennett Crantford, bass; Zeyda Ruga Suzuki, piano); this recording is on James Aikman's CD white sunday light.
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Composer: James Aikman Instrumentation: Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, Piano Year Composed: 1997 Duration: 25 minutes Cost:
 This piece can be heard on the CD white sunday light (music by James Aikman), available from amazon.com.
Program Notes:
To my absolute surprise, Schubert's famous Quintet in A major op. 114, D.
667 (1819) stands virtually alone in the vast history of music because of
its instrumentation: violin, viola, cello, double bass, and piano. Why
this seemingly natural grouping is in fact a very rare chamber music
ensemble, I do not know. My Piano Quintet uses Schubert's instrumentation
and is in four movements.
The first movement's multisectional yet organic form is united by a
recurring, ascending gesture. Varied repetition - within sections and
upon their recurrence - is also a key component of this piece. With the
piano steadfastly propelling the piece forward, the strings - in various
combinations - present the themes. The roles do merge such as in the
virtuosic, unison moments and in the ever-so-brief, yet highly
contrasting, chorale interludes.
The second movement, Adagio Semplice, is a rounded binary form based on a
song I wrote for my wife Deanna which was performed at our wedding in
1985. An excerpt of the lyrics:
Whenever castles fall, descending
Whenever dreams begin their ending
When all the world has slowly fallen
A short fugue appears as the third movement which is marked with churning
rhythmic precision. Instruments function independently. The subject
begins in the viola, is passed to the violin, then to the piano,
overlapping statements and ascending in range until the low entrance of
the cello and bass. The range diagram gradually ascends again to the
uppermost register before dropping down and climbing to its conclusion.
The hymn-like introduction to the fourth movement erases the ardent
counterpoint of the third. Here, the parts combine and sound harmonically
as one. After the introduction, the piano introduces a bass line later
echoed by the strings. The piece builds momentum as the sonic tour
visits increasingly impassioned musics before landing safely at a lyric,
piano variation of the introduction. This is not the end, however, as
references to each of the prior movements are found in the coda which
closes the piece.
This piece is dedicated to my family and especially to my wife, Deanna for
the countless contributions made to my life.
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