The Piano Quartet in B major,
Op. 41, also known as the Piano Quartet No. 2, was written by
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...
in February 1875. Dedicated to Jules Foucault, it was premiered on 6 March 1875 in Paris. It has been called one of Saint-Saëns' neglected masterpieces and is in the core repertoire of 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 ...
.
History
The Piano Quartet in B major is preceded by a
Piano Quartet in E major, which Saint-Saëns had written more than 20 years earlier, but remained unpublished until 1992. The Piano Quartet in B major was written in February 1875, an eventful year that marked his marriage to Marie-Laure Truffot and the birth of his son André, the composition of
''Le Déluge'' and the
fourth piano concerto, and the premiere of
''Danse macabre''.
The work was dedicated to Jules Foucault and was premiered on 6 March 1875 at
Salle Pleyel
The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by the acoustician Gustave Lyon together with the architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed i ...
with the composer on the piano,
Pablo de Sarasate
Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués (; 10 March 1844 – 20 September 1908), commonly known as Pablo de Sarasate, was a Spanish violinist, composer and Conducting, conductor of the Romantic music, Romantic period. His best known work ...
(violin), Alfred Turban (viola), and Léon Jacquard (cello). It has been arranged for piano duet by Auguste Horn (1877) and for two pianos by Jules Griset (1910).
[
]
Structure
The piano quartet consists of four movements
Movement may refer to:
Generic uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
* Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...
, which are cyclical in nature.[
]
Legacy
Jeremy Nicholas has called the Piano Quartet a neglected masterpiece, alongside the Septet
A septet is a formation containing exactly seven members. It is commonly associated with musical groups but can be applied to any situation where seven similar or related objects are considered a single unit, such as a seven-line stanza of poetry ...
and the Violin Sonata No. 1.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piano Quartet in B-flat major (Saint-Saëns)
Chamber music by Camille Saint-Saëns
Saint-Saens 2
1875 compositions
Compositions in B-flat major
Music with dedications