Composer: Erno” Dohnányi (1877–1960)
Title: Piano Quintets and Serenade
Artists: The Schubert Ensemble of London
William Howard piano
Mayumi Seiler violin
Douglas Paterson viola
Jane Salmon cello
Peter Buckoke double bass

Erno” Dohnányi is the least celebrated of the seminal triumvirate of twentieth-century Hungarian composers; Zoltán Kodály and Béla Bartók have become household names, yet Dohnányi’s posthumous fame hangs upon an unrepresentative handful of compositions. This recording brings together three of his finest chamber works; the two masterful yet hugely contrasting Piano Quintets, and his remarkable essay in that most underutilized of instrumental genres, the string trio. The Serenade in C for string trio falls within the direct lineage of models in the genre by Mozart and Beethoven, yet proves a decisive watershed for Dohnányi himself, fully articulating his nationally infused mature style for the first time. The Piano Quintets reflect an enduring and deep-rooted regard for both Brahms and Schumann, and even Mendelssohn.