Piano Quintet (Brahms)
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The Piano Quintet in F minor, opus 34, by Johannes Brahms was completed in 1864. Like most piano quintets, it is written for piano and string quartet (two violins, viola and cello).
The piece is in four movements:
- Allegro non troppo
- Andante, un poco adagio
- Scherzo: Allegro
- Finale: Poco sostenuto - Allegro non troppo - Presto, non troppo
The work began life as a string quintet (completed in 1862 and scored for two violins, viola and two cellos) and was then a sonata for two pianos (in which form Brahms and Carl Tausig performed it) before taking its final form. The outer movements are more than usually adventurous in harmony and unsettling in effect, and the introduction to the finale, with its rising figure in semitones, especially can be remarked on.