A marvelous kaleidoscope of expanded sounds and distinctive tonal colorations fills this program with a strange beauty. The opening piece is scored for the unusual combination of two pianos, two cellos, and horn, a great illustration of Schumann’s experimental nature. A dark fairy tale feel imbues an eerie work for harp and string quartet—based on Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death — filled with celestial energy and spooky effects. Korngold’s piano quintet is essentially three miniature tone poems, each with their own dazzling, cinematic sound world.
Robert Schumann
Andante and Variations in B-flat Major
André Caplet
Conte Fantastique
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Piano Quintet in E Major
