Paul Juon - Piano Quintet No. 1, Op. 33 (1906)

Paul Juon (Russian: Па́вел Фёдорович Юо́н, Pavel Fyodorovich Yuon; 6 March 1872 – 21 August 1940) was a Russian-born Swiss composer, pianist and composition professor at Berlin employed by Joseph Joachim.

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Piano Quintet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 33 (1906)
For Violin, 2 Violas, Cello & Piano
Dedication: To Katy

1. Moderato quasi andante (0:00)
2. Molto adagio (11:30)
3. Quasi valse (19:37)
4. Allegro non troppo (25:53)

Julia Becker, violin; Gilad Karni, viola 1; Antonia Siegers, viola 2; Christian Proske, cello and Yoshiko Iwai, piano.

“Paul Juon's Piano Quintet No.1 in d minor, Op.33 is a masterly work of the first order. It dates from 1906, and like several other of his chamber works, exists in two versions. Besides the original version for violin, two violas, cello and piano, the composer also made a version for two violins, viola, cello and piano, possibly at the publishers request since the original combination is seldomly used. The main theme to the large scale opening movement, Moderato quasi andante, consists of an expansive melodic line played calmly by the muted violin. Its ponderous, downwards gliding motion is contrasted with a dynamic, upwardly striving second theme. The second movement is a vocal, cantabile Molto adagio. A faster middle section consists of a fugue for all five voices. The third movement, Quasi valse, takes the place of a scherzo and begins with the piano playing knocking note repetitions which sound somewhat wooden. The music gains momentum, color and sonority with the entrance of the strings. The main theme to the final movement, Allegro non troppo, is based on a Russian folk song, Spin, my spinning girl, found in Tchaikovsky's collection of Russian folksongs for piano duet. It is followed by a passionate second melody."---The Chamber Music Journal.