When Shostakovich wrote his Piano Quintet in 1940, most of his chamber music had yet to be composed. Combining formal purity and freedom of tone, the quintet was hailed as a masterly creation and has remained his most successful chamber work. In the last years of a long and productive life, he composed a cycle of songs with piano trio, innovative in both form and structure, a hymn to art, friendship and nature possessing extraordinary evocative power. To tackle these major works of the twentieth century, the Trio Wanderer has chosen partners of the calibre of Catherine Montier, Christophe Gaugué, and an expert in Russian vocal music, Ekaterina Semenchuk.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH [1906-1975] Piano Quintet in G minor op.57(1940) Sol mineur/g-Moll · I. Prélude. Lento (4'14) · II. Fugue. Adagio (10'12) · III. Scherzo. Allegretto (3'21) · IV. Intermezzo. Lento (6'39) · V. Finale. Allegretto (7'08) Seven Romances on Poems by Alexander Blok op.127 (1967) Vocal-instrumental suite for soprano, piano, violin and cello Sept romances sur des poèmes de / Sieben Romanzen-Suite nach Gedichten von Alexander Blok · 1. Ophelia's Song Chant d'Ophélie / Lied der Ophelia (2'52) · 2. Gamayun, the Prophet Bird Gamayoun, l'Oiseau prophète / Gamajun, der Prophetenvogel (3'41) · 3. We were together Nous étions ensemble / Wir waren zusammen (3'00) · 4. The town sleeps La ville dort / Die Stadt schläft (3'01) · 5. The storm La tempête / Der Sturm (2'06) · 6. Secret signs Signes secrets / Geheime Zeichen (4'31) · 7. Music Musique / Musik (5'50)