Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat

A generation earlier, in the 1880s, Dvořák himself was in his musical prime. Recent triumphs in London and Russia certainly buoyed his self-esteem. Moreover, he had successfully broadened his compositional horizons into other genres (e.g., opera and sacred music) and could return to chamber music refreshed. The E-flat major Piano Quartet (1889), his second in the genre, was written in only one month. It is infused with the same spirit as the masterful Piano Quintet, op. 81, which likewise balances classical structure with the composer’s growing interest in Bohemian folk music. From the beginning of the work, it is also clear how much Dvořák has learned from Brahms, whose acquaintance he made around 1878. Strident unison textures define the opening gesture, which soon diffuses into a slowed down version of the initial intervals. Brahmsian, too, are the contrasting textures: soaring violin against rippling piano arpeggios; later, high cascades in the piano versus pizzicato in the strings. The second movement earns accolades from cellists, which instrument gets pride of place in the opening elegiac theme. The graceful third movement, a scherzo/trio in all but name, marks a decisive turn toward folk-inspired motives and rhythms, from the chromatic nuances of the main theme to the galloping bravura of the “trio.” Yet it is during the finale that Dvořák truly revels in native Bohemian spirit. The animated first theme easily evokes a whirling folk dance, whereas the second theme is more restrained through touches of calculated imitation. As Dvořák was to do elsewhere, the formal outlines of sonata-allegro structure are maintained, but passages of harmonic daring add witty irreverence.

(c) Jason Stell