Sandro Blumenthal - Piano Quintet No. 1, Op. 2 (1898)

Sandro Blumenthal (1874–1919) was an Italian/German pianist, violinist, violist, composer and cabaret singer amongst other things.

Please support my channel:
https://ko-fi.com/bartjebartmans

Piano Quintet No. 1 in D major, Op. 2 (1898)
Dedication: "A mio padre."

1. Allegro moderato (0:00)
2. Adagio espressivo (11:04)
3. Scherzo. Prestissimo (17:39)
4. Finale. Molto lento - Allegro con fuoco (21:44)

Daniel Giglberger and Hélène Maréchaux, violin I & 2
Corinna Golomoz, viola
Bridget MacRae, cello
Olivier Triendl, piano

Sandro Blumental was born in Venice on 30 June 1874 the son of Minna and Carlo Blumenthal, a Jewish banker. There, he attended the Benedetto Marcello conservatory and studied piano, violin and viola as well as composition. During this time, he created principally piano lieder in addition to pieces just for the piano.

From 1896 on Blumenthal studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Munich for three years. There, he attended composition classes by Josef Rheinberger, the teacher of famous musicians, composers and conductors, such as Engelbert Humperdinck or Wilhelm Furtwängler. Under Rheinberger‘s tutelage, Blumenthal now also dared to write pieces for larger instrumentations and composed chamber music pieces as well as works for large orchestras. And he did so successfully: Not only were his compositions performed at the public end-of-semester concerts of the academy and praised by the direction of the conservatory, the attending press also confirmed the young composer having great talent, “a sure compositional technique“, “great appreciation for beautiful sounds“ and “natural and fresh feeling“. In addition to a piano quartet in a minor as well as a symphony and an elegy for orchestra, the two piano quintets in D Major and G Major Op. 2 and Op. 4 are part of his work created in those years.

The first movement of the quintet in D Major, Allegro moderato , starts with an arabesque piano figure over which a dreamy and yearning theme unfolds in sweeping repetitions. In contrast, the second theme is rather short – a dotted motif, first sounding cautiously in the piano, but then rising to a maestoso, and later dominating the exposition. The cello presents the third theme, a lied-like phrase heard for the first time in the coda of the exposition and calmly bringing the movement to its end.

The three-part Adagio espressivo starts tenderly and with restraint, almost Schubert-like. Blumenthal chose two very rare keys here – bright F-sharp Major and soft D-flat Major –, and the movement‘s lyrical tone again and again works itself all the way into the soulful.

The most original movement of the quintet is probably the Scherzo , whose jaunty mood is reminiscent of Mendelssohn. The unusually serious Trio with its fugati and an almost painful mood builds a clear contrast to the boisterous prestissimo with hobbling rhythms and roaring chromaticism.

The Finale begins with a mysterious and dark, monophonic Molto lento introduction. The first theme of the following Allegro con fuoco pushes resolutely forward, superseded by the second, lied-like theme first presented by the piano. The air of this highly energetic, sweeping final movement closing the quintet is filled with unbridled dynamism.

This work was premiered at the end-of-semester concert in 1898.

Here you can find an interesting biography:
http://jarmandi.eu/Composer/Blumenthal,-Sandro

Видео Sandro Blumenthal - Piano Quintet No. 1, Op. 2 (1898) канала Bartje Bartmans