Louise Farrenc – Piano Quintet No. 1

Farrenc’s first Piano Quintet, written in 1839, is a reflection of her rightful place in European music history. The ensemble matches Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet, the structure borrows much from Beethoven, and the atmosphere might recall Mendelssohn’s D minor piano trio (composed the same year); but at its heart, it’s a brilliant display of Farrenc’s own skill as a pianist and ability to orchestrate around it. Like her better-known contemporaries, she had a knack for writing songful melodies – the stratospheric cello solo that opens the second movement is a highlight – but at the same time, there’s hardly a moment of pause in the entire work’s sturm-und-drang energy.