Alongside the piano will be the flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn. This is the grouping for which the French oboist David Walter transcribed the String Quintet with Piano that Robert Schumann dedicated in 1842 to his wife, the pianist Clara Schumann. The melodic resourcefulness of the first two movements demonstrates his appetite for the romantic expression of the Lied. It then continues in intricate textures that demand the absolute commitment of all the instrumental parts. Before that, for the same formation and also with romantic affinities, but with a Brahmsian slant, we can listen to a sextet by Ludwig Thuille, a contemporary Austrian musician and friend of Richard Strauss. Over the course of four movements, he first contrasts an austere register with expressive intensity, then apparent triviality and, finally, a lively and playful spirit.
Thuille & Schumann
Metropolitana’s Soloists
L. Thuille Sextet in B-flat major, Op. 6
R. Schumann Wind Sextet with Piano (arr. D. Walter; from the Wind Quintet with Piano, Op. 44)
Nuno Inácio flute
Sally Dean oboe
Nuno Silva clarinet
Lurdes Carneiro bassoon
Daniel Canas horn
Savka Konjikusic piano
