Description

Ian Venables’ Piano Quintet was commissioned in 1995 by the Worcestershire firm of chartered accountants, Kendall Wadley and received its first performance – given by The Duke Quartet and pianist Scott Mitchell – at the Malvern Festival in the following year. Its genesis is to be found in the composer’s earlier essay in the string quartet medium. Venables conceived the piece originally for string quartet but it quickly became apparent that the distinct voice of the piano was required and it is for this reason that the work opens with an unusually long, but highly effective introduction for quartet alone.

The work has three movements:
1.Adagio Espressivo – Allegro ma non troppo
2. Largo Espressivo – Doppio movemente – Tempo 1
3. Allegro moderato con spirito – Adagio e molto espressivo

Duration: 23 minutes.