Der Forellenteich. Variation on the theme from "The Trout" by Franz Schubert

The Croatian composer Dejan Lazic was born in Zagreb into a family of musicians. He grew up in Salzburg, where he studied at the Mozarteum (clarinet, piano and composition). Today he lives in Amsterdam. It is hardly surprising that Lazic places the piano at the centre of his Forellenteich (Trout Pond) and incorporates numerous fragments of motifs and Schubert's initials F.SCH. in his variations.

In 2017, pianist Silke Avenhaus collaborated with five contemporary composers – Johannes X. Schachtner (Germany), Ferran Cruixent (Spain), Gerald Resch (Austria), Osmo Tapio Räihälä (Finland) and Dejan Lazic (Croatia) to engage with Franz Schubert's famous Trout Quintet. The piano quintet, consisting of individual contributions from these composers, premiered on 2 October 2018. It is a stroke of luck that the new variations complement each other in the most exciting way – without any mutual consultation – from the ironic Trout Waltz to the setting of Schubert's initials F. SCH. in the virtuoso Bartókian 5/8 frenzy to the cyber variation, which, with the addition of a mobile app to be played, is reminiscent of the sound of a warped LP, the palette of these short new compositions, which can be performed following the Trout Quintet or as a stand-alone work, is wide-ranging.