A piano sextet is a composition for

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

and five other musical instruments, or a group of six musicians who perform such works. There is no standard grouping of instruments with that name, and compared to the string quartet or

piano quintet In classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly a string quartet (i.e., two violins, viola, and cello). The term also refers to the group of musicians that plays a pian ...

literature, relatively few such compositions exist. The best-known piano sextet is probably the ''

Sextet A sextet (or hexad) is a formation containing exactly six members. The former term is commonly associated with vocal ensembles (e.g. The King's Singers, Affabre Concinui) or musical instrument groups, but can be applied to any situation where six ...

'' by Poulenc, one of the pinnacles of the wind and piano repertoire. Chausson's ''

Concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

'' is widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of French strings and piano chamber music literature (for example, the critic Jean Gallois describes it as "superb"). The following is an incomplete list of piano sextet composers and their works in this genre: *

Theodor Blumer Theodor Anton Blumer (24 March 1881 – 21 September 1964) was a German composer and conductor. Blumer was born in Dresden. He studied composition with Felix Draeseke and W. Brookman at the Dresden Conservatory. In 1931 he became the conduct ...

(1881-1964), Sextet, Op. 45, composed 1921, for piano and

wind quintet A wind quintet, also known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players (most commonly flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon). Unlike the string quartet (of 4 string instruments) with its homogeneous blend of sound color, the in ...

Philippe Boesmans Philippe Boesmans (17 May 1936 – 10 April 2022) was a Belgian pianist, composer and academic teacher. He studied to be a pianist at the Royal Conservatory of Liège, and was self-taught as a composer, influenced by the Liège Group of Henri Po ...

(1936–2022), Sextuor à clavier, composed 2005, for piano and

string quintet A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello), a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so-called "viola quintet" ...

Ernest Chausson Amédée-Ernest Chausson (; 20 January 1855 – 10 June 1899) was a French Romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish. Life Born in Paris into an affluent bourgeois family, Chausson was the sole surviving child of ...

(1855–1899), ''Concert'' in D major, Op. 21, composed 1891, for piano, violin, and string quartet *

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

(1900–1990), Sextet, composed 1938, for piano, clarinet, and string quartet *

Ernst von Dohnányi Ernst von Dohnányi (Hungarian: ''Dohnányi Ernő'', ; 27 July 1877 – 9 February 1960) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and conductor. He used a German form of his name on most published compositions. Biography Dohnányi was born in Pozsony ...

(1877–1960), Sextet for string trio, clarinet, horn, and piano * Louise Farrenc (1804–1875), Sextet in C minor, op. 40, composed 1852, for piano and

* Mikhail Glinka (1804–1857) **Grand Sextet (''Sestetto originale'') in E-flat major, composed 1832, for piano, string quartet, and double bass **Serenade (''Divertimento brillante'') on Themes from Bellini's ''

La Sonnambula ''La sonnambula'' (''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eu ...

'' in A-flat major, composed 1832, for piano, string quartet, and double bass * Hans Huber (1852-1921) Sextet in B-flat major, composed 1898, for piano and

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the P ...

(1851-1931), Sarabande et Menuet, Op. 72 for piano and

, arranged 1918 by the composer from his earlier Suite dans le style ancien, Op. 24 (1886) for 2 flutes, trumpet and string quartet *

Gordon Jacob Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob CBE (5 July 18958 June 1984) was an English composer and teacher. He was a professor at the Royal College of Music in London from 1924 until his retirement in 1966, and published four books and many articles about ...

(1895–1984), Sextet in B-flat major, composed 1956, for piano and

* Joseph Jongen (1873–1953), Rapsodie, Op. 70, composed 1922, for piano and

* Paul Juon (1872-1940), Divertimento, Op. 51, composed 1913, for piano and

Sergei Lyapunov Sergei Mikhailovich Lyapunov (or Liapunov; russian: Серге́й Миха́йлович Ляпуно́в, ; 8 November 1924) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor. Life Lyapunov was born in Yaroslavl in 1859. After the death of his fath ...

(1859–1924), Sextet in B-flat minor, Op. 63, composed 1916/1921, for piano, string quartet, and double bass * Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959) ** ballet, '' La revue de cuisine'', composed 1927, for piano, violin, cello, clarinet, bassoon, and trumpet **Piano Sextet, composed 1929, for piano, flute, oboe, clarinet, and two bassoons * Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), Sextet in D major, Op. 110, composed 1824, for piano, violin, two violas, cello, and double bass *

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', ' ...

(born 1933),

for

string trio A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. From at least the 19th century on, the term "string trio" with otherwise unspecified instrumentation normally refers to the combination violin, viola and cell ...

, clarinet, horn, and piano * Francis Poulenc (1899–1963),

, composed 1939, for piano and

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, ...

(1891–1953), '' Overture on Hebrew Themes'' in C minor, Op. 34, for piano, clarinet, and string quartet * Albert Roussel (1869-1937), Divertissement, Op. 6, composed 1906, for piano and

Ludwig Thuille Ludwig Wilhelm Andreas Maria Thuille (Bozen, 30 November 1861 – 5 February 1907) was an Austrian composer and teacher, numbered for a while among the leading operatic composers of the so-called Munich School of composers, whose most famous repre ...

(1861–1907), Sextet in B-flat, Op. 6, composed 1886, for piano and

Felix Weingartner Paul Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (2 June 1863 – 7 May 1942) was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist. Life and career Weingartner was born in Zara, Dalmatia, Austria-Hungary (now Zadar, Croatia), to Austrian parents. ...

(1863–1942), Sextet Op.33; for piano, two violins, viola, violoncello and double bass *

Jorge Grundman Jorge Grundman Isla (born 1961) is a Spanish classical composer, musicologist, musician and professor who has helped to recover the music of Robert Kahn and Adalbert Gyrowetz among others through the non-profit music foundation created by him. Mus ...

(b. 1961), Piano Sextet in E minor Op. 83 for piano, two violins, viola, violoncello and double bass Closely related forms of chamber music include the

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of m ...

, the

piano quartet A piano quartet is a chamber music composition for piano and three other instruments, or a musical ensemble comprising such instruments. Those other instruments are usually a string trio consisting of a violin, viola and cello. Piano quartets for ...

and the

References

{{Musical ensembles Piano Types of musical groups