Chamber Music

[byarbrough]

I'm looking to do some chamber music next semester, but I normally listen exclusively to piano stuff so I have no idea what's out there. Does anyone have some suggestions for moderate to advanced chamber music? Or even just some of the most famous works so I could get an idea of what I like. I'll have some time to get a group together so instrumentation shouldn't be a problem. Thanks

[kitty on the keys]

I love chamber music!!!!!!! You should look at the Mozart and Haydn Trios. Listen to the Brahms and Schubert Trios too. If you like French--try Debussy, Ravel and Faure. Good luck and have fun !!


Kitty on the Keys

[giannalinda]

I love chamber music!!!!!!! You should look at the Mozart and Haydn Trios. Listen to the Brahms and Schubert Trios too. If you like French--try Debussy, Ravel and Faure. Good luck and have fun !!


HOw many people are there?

[worov]

Bach :

Sonatas for Flute and Clavier, BWV 1030-32
Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Clavier, BWV 1027-1029
Sonatas for Violin and Clavier, BWV 1014-1019
Sonatas for Clavier and Pedal, BWV 525 - 530
Suite for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV 1025

And you can try to do an arrangement of the Art of the Fugue, BWV 1080 for any instrumentation you like.


Mozart :

Quintet for Piano and Winds, K.452
Piano Trios K.254, 496, 498, 502, 542, 548
Piano Quartets, K. 452, 478, 493
Trios Sonatas K. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
Violin Sonatas, K. 6, 296, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 376, 377, 378, 379, 380, 402, 403, 454, 481, 526, 547, 570

Beethoven :

Allegretto for Piano Trio, WoO39
Cello Sonatas, Op. 5, 69, 102
Violin Sonatas, Op. 12, 23, 24, 30, 47, 96
6 National Airs with Variations for Flute and Piano, Op.105
10 National Airs with Variations for Flute and Piano, Op.107
Notturno for Viola and Piano, Op.42
Piano Quartets, WoO 36
Piano Trio, Op. 1, 11, 38, 44, 70, 97, 121a
Quintet for Piano and Winds, Op.16
Rondo for Violin and Piano, WoO 41
Trio for Piano, Flute and Bassoon, WoO 37
7 Variations on 'Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen' for Cello and Piano, WoO 46
12 Variations on 'Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen' for Cello and Piano, Op.66

Schubert :

Quintet for Piano and Strings 'Trout', D.667
Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano, D.821 (with a new instrument cello-like, it’s generally played on a cello)
Rondo for piano and violin, D.895 (Op.70)
Fantasia for piano and violin (D.934)
Piano Trios D.898, D. 929
Trio, called Sonata for Piano, Violin, and Cello D.28
Notturno for Piano Trio, D.897 (Op.148)
Violin Sonata, Op.162


Chopin :

Piano Trio, Op.8
Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op.65
Grand Duo Concertant
Songs, Op.74

Brahms :

Cello Sonatas, Op. 38, 99
Horn Trio, Op.40
Duets, Op. 20
Lieder, Op. 3, 6, 7, 14, 32, 43, 46 , 47, 48, 49, 57, 58, 59
Piano Quartets, Op. 25, 26, 60
Piano Quintet, Op.34
Piano Trios, Op. 8, 87, 101
Violin Sonatas, Op. 78, 100, 108

Debussy :

Piano Trio,
Nocturne and Scherzo for piano and cello
Cello Sonata
Violin Sonata

Rachmaninoff :

2 Morceaux de Salon, Op. 6
Trios Elegiaque Op.6



Just the tip of the iceberg (as they say).

[byarbrough]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Has anyone played Prokofiev's 2nd violin sonata before? The piano part seems very doable but I haven't gotten a chance to try it out yet.

[furtwaengler]

Prokofiev's 2nd Violin Sonata is the flute sonata arranged for violin, and the original is a better piece. The 1st Sonata on the other hand is certainly one of the few really personal statements Prokofiev made, along with the 4th Piano Sonata and the 2nd Piano Concerto. It's a dark and tremendously moving piece, but requires quite the violinist to do it justice.

If it is violin and piano you're looking for, the 10 Beethoven and the 3 Brahms sonatas are major staples of the repertoire, but there's so much there.

It's rather shameful that even Chopin has been mentioned before Schumann and Mendelssohn, giants of chamber music! In particular, their trios, and Schumann's Quartet and Quintet (both in E-flat) would be great to explore if you want more instruments.

Good luck

[indutrial]

The romantic/modern French repertoire is literally bottomless. Look into Faure, Roussel, Debussy, Milhaud, and Poulenc, and you'll never want for chamber music again. Martinu, a Czech composer who worked in Paris, also wrote tons of piano-based chamber work.

You should also check out Hindemith's monster catalog of sonatas with piano accompaniment. He wrote at least one for each wind/brass instrument and an even larger amount for stringed instruments.

Also, look into Vagn Holmboe's and Niels Viggo Bentzon's catalogues.

[weissenberg2]

The Tchaikovsky piano trio would be good, Reinecke's flute sonata Undine is great but very difficult for the pianist and you should take a look at some of his trios.

[silverchair87]

chamber music is my favourite!!

At the moment I'm playing for singers and with a piano, oboe and bassoon trio, but I recently played as a duo with clarinet, double bass, flute, trumpet, saxophone and cello. Loved it all!

I'm playing songs by Purcell, Schubert, Brahms, Faure and Debussy and playing Poulenc's trio for oboe and bassoon, but have also played Poulencs sonatas for flute and clarinet, as well as Saint-Saens sonata for clarinet and piano. I love Faure's music and played Koussevitzky with double bass.

I tend to just listen to recordings of composers I already like, but material that is new to me, and listen to what my peers are playing too. We have a chamber music performance class every Wednesday from 11am - 2pm so we all hear a lot of different works. It's great!

[indutrial]

Related to this topic, let me just mention that IMSLP.org has been getting lots of good French chamber contributions since the site returned from the dead. One of their best contributors has been doing wonders scanning in nearly-complete catalogs of work by Saint-Saens, Faure, Roussel, and D'Indy, amongst others. I've recently spent quite a bit of time looking through Saint-Saen's sonatas for wind instruments/piano and Faure's piano quartets/quintets, all of which were posted there at some point.

I've also been checking out some cool works by contemporary composer Michael G. Cunningham, a rather prolific writer who's written tons of great sonatas and nine piano trios for various instrumental groupings. He's worth a look ( https://www.wiscomposers.org/members/cunningham.html ). David Loeb is another composer of this ilk, and has written extensive material for chamber settings.