Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44

About the work

Written in 1842, Schumann's "year of chamber music", and dedicated to Clara. It was among the first works to treat the piano as an equal partner to a string quartet rather than an accompanied soloist, and it became the model for the medium. The second movement is a march-like slow movement with a lyrical middle section; the finale closes with a fugue that stacks the first movement's theme on top of the finale's own. Clara played the piano at the 1843 premiere.

Upcoming performances