Franz Schubert wrote a real earworm with his lieder, Die Forelle, or The Trout. In fact, it was such a catchy tune that a wealthy patron suggested that perhaps Schubert could create a set of variations with it. And Schubert did--in five different pieces. The first time was Schubert's Piano Quintet in A Major nicknamed, of course, the Trout. Rather than the usual line up of piano and string quartet, Schubert shook up the formula a bit, dropping the second violin in favor of a double bass. And it all worked; to this day it's a favorite in the world of chamber music. An odd fact: although Schubert was 22 when he wrote it, The Trout Quintet remained unpublished until the year after he died.
The fourth movement is where that melody makes a full appearance as the theme, followed by a set of variations. It will begin with the theme in full, and then you'll hear the magic Schubert created with it. This performance came from last season with the Canandaigua Lake Music Festival, recent renamed ChamberFest Canandaigua. Audrey Andrist plays the piano, joined by festival Artistic Directors Kevin Kumar (violin) and Amy Barston (cello), Kieran Hanlon on the double bass, and violist Ed Klorman, one of the founding members of the Festival. It was recorded on July 21, 2019 in the Finger Lakes Community College concert hall.
