November / December 2014

Juliusz Zarebski's Piano Quintet

The pianistic talent of the little-known Polish composer, Juliusz Zarebski (1854-1885), was recognized early. At 16 he was sent first to Vienna and subsequently to St. Petersburg to study. After this, he completed his musical education by studying both piano and composition with Liszt in Rome between 1874-76. He then embarked upon a fairly successful career as a piano virtuoso. In 1880, on the strength of a recommendation from Lizst, Zarebski obtained a teaching position at the Brussels Conservatory where he remained until his death of tuberculosis in 1885.

The Quintet for Piano and Strings in g minor Op.34 was composed in the year of his death. It is a work on a grand scale, lasting nearly 40 minutes. Zarebski knew that he was dying and almost certainly felt that this quintet would be an important part his musical testament.

The opening Allegro is at once brooding, lyrical and powerful. The music is an interesting blend, showing the influence of Brahms as well as that of Cesar Franck. The integration of the piano with the strings—always a concern, especially when the composer is a piano virtuoso—leaves nothing to be desired. The piano fits in seamlessly and does not dominate the strings. The following Adagio seems to break all bounds of time and space. Tonally interesting, the strings speak amongst themselves in subdued and leisurely voices. The second theme is dervived from the first movement. Perhaps the most striking movement is the Scherzo with its driving main theme and two trios with their use of pizzicato and harmonics. There is more than a hint of Ravel, who was but 10 at the time. The last movement, marked Finale, begins with a French flavor which switches almost imperceptably to a Brahmsian theme and then back to a French atmosphere. Liszt, to whom the Quintet was dedicated, judged it perfect. Certainly, it is a work of great originality and deserves to join the foremost rank of piano quintets and be heard in concert.

This Piano Quintet is the equal of any from the same era and we warmly recommend it both to professionals, whom we hope will perform it in concert and to experience amateurs who are sure to enjoy making its acquaintance.  You can hear soundbites from each movement on our website and the parts are available from Edition Silvertrust.