Hiroko Sasaki and Quintessential Quintets

upcoming concert at Weill

My next “classical” release will feature duets with noted classical pianist Hiroko Sasaki. (I wrote up Hiroko’s album of Debussy here.) On April 29, Hiroko will be joined by four other excellent players in a major concert at Weill Hall.

Both Hiroko and I studied with that tremendous force for good, Sophia Rosoff, and this concert is part of the Sophia Rosoff Concert Series presented by the Abby Whiteside Foundation.

The piano quintet is an imposing genre, about as “big” as chamber music gets. The part writing in the strings can get quite thick, and the piano has the chance to take accompanied flight as in a concerto.

Dmitri Shostakovich’s contribution evokes something of the Baroque, dour and brilliant by turns. The work is in five movements and was an instant success among audiences after its premiere in 1940. To this day the Piano Quintet remains one of Shostakovich’s most popular works.

Antonín Dvořák wrote a tremendous amount but only a few things are in the active repertoire. However, those few Dvořák “hits” are considered to be among the finest examples of each genre, including the Cello Concerto, the New World Symphony, and the Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81. The four movements have melodic inspiration and folk wisdom side by side; it was premiered in 1888.

Both quintets are famous, but it is relatively uncommon to hear both in one concert. Sensational.