Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, Op. 81

Dvořák wrote this quintet in just seven weeks in the autumn of 1887, abandoning a planned revision of an earlier quintet and starting fresh, and the speed shows in the music's sense of spontaneous invention. The first movement opens with the cello alone stating a broad, arching melody over a rocking piano accompaniment, before the upper strings enter and the texture fills out into something much more energetic. The second movement is labelled 'Dumka', a form Dvořák loved: a slow, melancholy theme alternates with faster, dance-like passages, creating a back-and-forth between stillness and vitality that feels almost improvisatory.

What to listen for

In the first movement, notice how the viola introduces the second main theme shortly after the cello's opening statement: it is busier and more restless than the cello's broad line, and the contrast between these two characters drives most of the movement's drama. In the Scherzo third movement, the opening melody uses cross-rhythms where the accents in the strings and piano land in different places at the same time, giving the dance a slightly tilted, off-balance energy before the trio section settles into a gentler, rocking passage for the two violins.

Recommended rendition

The recording by Boris Giltburg and the Pavel Haas Quartet (Supraphon) has been frequently cited as a top recommendation, having been selected as the preferred version in BBC Radio 3's 'Building a Library' survey for this work.

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