Ru
EnN. Brazhnikova
Russian piano quintet in the 19th century: the little known pages of the genre history
This article explores several pages in the history of the Russian piano quintet that remain unresolved within Russian music history. This article examines for the first time the quintets of A. Rubinstein, K. Davydov, and Yu. Bleichman, which appeared in the second half of the 19th century. It charts the genre’s historical development and surveys contextual phenomena significant for Russian chamber music as a whole. With regard to Russian musical culture, beginning in the 1830s and 1840s, it highlights the intensive development of chamber music, which enjoyed widespread public demand. The role of salon quartet music-making, its emergence on the concert stage of the 1860s and 1870s, and the formation of permanent chamber instrumental ensembles featuring outstanding musicians such as G. Wieniawski, L. Auer, K. Davydov, and A. Verzhbilovich are highlighted. A brief analysis of the artistic concepts behind little-known quintet works is presented below, with particular attention given to A. Rubinstein’s Piano Quintet, Op. 99. The composer’s interpretation of the genre is distinguished by an individual approach to the embodiment of classical-romantic traditions, a distinctive presentation of lyrical and dramatic images, a striking melody, multi-themed music material, and the dominant function of romance tendencies. The Quintet’s large-scale musical dramaturgy is characterized by vivid contrasts between figurative and emotional spheres, the unfolding of a pervasive conflict, and epic climaxes. At the stylistic level, a combination of chamber, “orchestral”, and concerto principles is revealed. The quintets by K. Davydov and Y. Bleikhman emphasize the leading role of the lyrical mode (dramaturgy and genre aspects), adherence to tradition, laconic sound form, and reliance on the classical-romantic model of the sonata cycle. The high artistic value of this layer in Russian musical culture is noted, as is the need for its actualization in concert practice and thorough scholarly analysis.
Key words
piano quintet genre in Russian music of the second half in the 19th century, A. Rubinstein, K. Davydov, Yu. Bleikhman, St. Petersburg Chamber Music Society, chamber instrumental performing art, national character.
For citation
Brazhnikova N. Russian piano quintet in the 19th century: the little known pages of the genre history. In: South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2025. No. 3. Pp. 45–57.
