Quintet

Description

Piano, Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Violoncello — The Quintet for Piano and Strings Op. 34 was commissioned by New England Presenters in honor of Jack Cohan and completed in November of 1990. All four movements of the work bear motivic and thematic material in common and are also related in that they all feature different ostinati as unifying devices. The first movement, Moderato, opens with a mysterious repeated-note figuration in the piano, with a lyrical melody unfolding above it in the first violin. This material is developed for the rest of the movement in an arc-like structure. The second movement is a relentless and virtuosic Scherzo in quintuple time. The third movement, Adagio molto, is more of an extended introduction which leads without pause to the final movement, Allegro brutale, a ferocious finale in rondo form.