Franz Schubert (German; 1797-1828)—Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667, “Trout Quintet” (1819)
- Allegro vivace
- Andante
- Scherzo: Presto
- Andantino – Allegretto
- Allegro giusto
Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart was a poet who often found himself behind bars for his provocative social critiques. Locked away in the Hohenasperg fortress, he penned numerous poems, including the 1783 Die Forelle (The Trout), which describes an innocent trout being plucked from the stream by a devious fisherman. The final stanza clumsily revealed the poem to be a sexual parable, warning girls to be wary of men: an attempt to obfuscate the true political motivations of the poem.
When Franz Schubert set the poem to song in 1817, the final stanza was omitted entirely. Schubert prioritized publishing opportunities over the textual sanctity of Schubart’s off-color stanza. Unhappily working as a teacher at his father’s schoolhouse, he filled all his free time with composing, penning some 600 songs in total, and Die Forelle quickly made the rounds in Vienna, helping launch his career.
Schubert became friends with the prominent Baritone Johann Michael Vogl, for whom he composed numerous songs. The two summered in upper Austria in 1819, and Vogl introduced Schubert to the wealthy patron Sylvester Paumgartner, who, himself a cellist, commissioned Schubert for a quintet that included variations on Schubert’s immensely popular Die Forelle. Paumgartner was an enthusiast of Johann Hummel’s Piano Quintet that had the unusual instrumentation of piano, violin, viola, cello, and bass, which Schubert copied.
Die Forelle’s piano accompaniment is built on a repeated upward flourish, which is recycled in the quintet as a binding element, first heard in the introduction, coloring a gentle chorale melody. The figure transforms into the triplet rhythmic underpinning of the movement, supporting lighthearted songlike melodies. The overall timbre of the ensemble is novel: the addition of the bass extends the range of the strings, freeing the piano to brightly explore the high register.
The hallmark of Schubertian song was his ability to pair melody with accompaniments that relied on engaging, repetitive figures. This model plays out in the delicate Andante. The invigorated, playful energy of the Scherzo is contrasted by its hushed, intimate trio.
Schubert’s famous melody is treated to variations in the fourth movement, opening with a softly swaying chorale texture with the string alone. The variations progress to a point of obscurity, inviting a return to the melody, now joyfully honoring the original song setting.
The calming D major close of the variations is jostled alert by the chiming E that begins the finale, which opens on a distinctly folksy melody. A second, soaring theme has a harmonic shape not dissimilar from the “Trout” theme. The brazen closing music remembers the initial rising theme, pausing for a moment of quietude, and ending with a triumphant flourish.
