Schubert, Dutilleux, Elgar

Franz Schubert
Fantasie for Violin and Piano in C major, D. 934 (1827)

Henri Dutilleux
Les Citations, for Oboe, Double Bass, Harpsichord and Percussion (1985; 2010 Version)

Edward Elgar
Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84 (1918)

Featured Musicians:

Peggy Pearson, oboe
Jennifer Frautschi & Yura Lee, violins
Marcus Thompson, viola
Clancy Newman, cello
Thomas Van Dyck, double bass
Max Levinson, piano
Adrian Morejon, harpsichord
Robert Schulz, percussion

Franz Schubert’s Fantasie was the last of his pieces written for violin and piano, based on a tune he wrote a few years earlier entitled “Sei mir gegrüsst” (‘I greet you”). The virtuosic piece is filled with magical elements weaved in through piano tremolos and quick violin passagework.

Written for an unorthodox instrumentation, Henri Dutilleux’s Les Citations, or The Quotations, relies on the listener’s memory and recall of fragments that progressively grow and materialize into something more concrete.

In a letter to a friend, Edward Elgar writes that his Piano Quintet “runs gigantically and in a large mood.” His inspiration for the piece came from the allure of nature near his rented country cottage away from the busyness of London.