Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor

There are few more arresting openings in the entire chamber music repertoire than the surging long-breathed melody on unison strings that begins Fauré’s C minor Piano Quartet No. 1. The work was composed between 1876 and 1879 during a turbulent period in Fauré’s life marked in particular by the breakup of his engagement with Marianne Viardot, daughter of the famous singer Pauline Viardot. After the first performance in Paris in 1880, the composer expressed strong dissatisfaction with the finale, and three years later he replaced it with an entirely new movement. The overriding mood of the "Allegro molto moderato" first movement is melancholic; the character, texture, and harmony of the opening melody fluctuate and work in fluid dialogue with another idea—first heard in in the viola—that is more lyrical and reflective. In stark contrast, the ensuing “Scherzo allegro vivo” is lighthearted, combining plucked strings with sprightly material in the piano. A central trio section, featuring a dreamy melody on muted strings punctuated by rhythmic material in the piano, is a tour de force of textural invention. After this, the sombre “Adagio” hints at the composer’s dejected feelings following his failed relationship, but without ever succumbing to self-pity. A greater degree of anger seems to boil over in the blustery opening passages of the “Allegro molto” finale. But the storm eventually subsides, particularly after a new and more optimistic idea gathers momentum, inexorably driving the music toward a triumphantly positive conclusion.