| Piano Quintet in G minor | |
|---|---|
| byJean Sibelius | |
 The composer in 1889 | |
| Catalogue | JS 159 |
| Composed | 1890 (1890) |
| Publisher | Hansen (1993)[1] |
| Duration | 36.5 mins.[2] |
| Movements | 5 |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 5 May 1890 (1890-05-05) (Movements I, III)[1] |
| Location | Helsinki,Grand Duchy of Finland |
| Performers |
|
ThePiano Quintet inG minor,JS 159, is a five-movementchamber piece for two violins, viola, cello, and piano[3] written in 1890 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. When composing the piece, Sibelius replaced the original Movement IV (markedVivace) with ascherzo (Vivacissimo); the earlierVivace is extant.[4]
Movements I and III of the Piano Quintet premiered in Helsinki on 5 May 1890 at theMusic Institute (now the Sibelius Academy); the performers included the Norwegian composerJohan Halvorsen (violin) and the Italian composerFerruccio Busoni (piano), as well asKarl Wasenius [fi] (violin), Josef Schwartz (viola), andOtto Hutschenreuter [ru] (cello).[1] Movements II and IV had their premieres a half-year later on 11 October the first four movements were performed inTurku; among the soloists was Sibelius's close friend, the playwrightAdolf Paul, who played piano, as well asRichard Hagel [de] on first violin.[1]
At neither of the two 1890 concerts was Movement V played. As a result, Sibelius rescued themes from the finale by reusing them for the Rondo inD minor (JS 162, 1893) for viola and piano duo, as well as the first of theSix Impromptus (Op. 5/1, 1893) for solo piano.[4] In 1965, Movement V was played for the first time when the quintet in its entirety was premiered properly on 24 May at theTurku Concert Hall; the instrumentalists were as follows:Tuomas Haapanen [fi] (violin),Pekka Kari [fi] (violin),Mauri Pietikäinen [fi] (viola),Erkki Rautio [fi] (cello), andLiisa Pohjola [fi] (piano).[1]
The G minor Quintet is in five movements, as follows:
The piece waspublished posthumously in 1993 byEdition Wilhelm Hansen.[1]
The first movement, markedGrave – Allegro, is in3
2time; it has a duration of about 10 minutes.[3]
The second movement is anintermezzo; markedModerato and in4
4 time, it has a duration of about 4.5 minutes.[5]
The third movement, markedAndante, is in2
4 time; it has a duration of about nine minutes.[5]
The fourth movement is ascherzo; markedVivacissimo and in3
4 time, it has a duration of about 3.5 minutes.[5]
The fifth movement beginsModerato in4
4 time before switching to6
8 for theVivace. It has a duration of about 9.5 minutes.[1]
The Finnish pianistErik T. Tawaststjerna and the Sibelius Academy Quartet made the world premiere studio recording of the G minor Quintet forFinlandia in 1985.[1] The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:
| No. | Violin I | Violin II | Viola | Cello | Piano | Runtime[a] | Rec.[b] | Recording venue | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seppo Tukiainen [fi] | Erkki Kantola [fi] | Veikko Kosonen | Arto Noras | Erik T. Tawaststjerna | 36:15 | 1985 | Roihuvuoren kirkko [fi] | Finlandia | |
| 2 | John Georgiadis | Brendan O'Reilly | Ian Jewel | Keith Harvey | Anthony Goldstone | 39:35 | 1989 | Snape Maltings Concert Hall | Chandos | |
| 3 | Götz Bernau | Antti Meurman [fi] | Ulla Kekko | Juha Malmivaara | Ella & Jaakko Untamala | 37:30 | 1994 | [Unknown],Kuopio | Edition Abseits | |
| 4 | Jaakko Kuusisto | Laura Vikman | Anna Kreetta Gribajcevic [fi] | Joel Laakso | Folke Gräsbeck [fi] | 38:53 | 2005 | Järvenpää Hall [fi] | BIS | |
| 5 | Roger Coull | Philip Gallaway | Gustav Clarkson | Nicholas Roberts | Martin Roscoe | 37:16 | 2008 | St Paul's Church, Birmingham | Somm |
