Schubert’s Divine Quintet

DECEMBER 8, 2025

@7:30PM

Jaime Laredo, violin

Susie Park, violin

Hsin-Yun Huang, viola

Eric Kim, cello

Sharon Robinson, cello

You’ll hear Spohr’s Nonet, a lively piece that brings together winds and strings in a rich, joyful soundscape; a charming Mozart quartet written to spotlight the oboe; and a spirited trio by Dohnányi, filled with Hungarian rhythms and Viennese flair.

Our season begins with energy and elegance as violinist Kristin Lee returns to Linton, joined by musicians from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and faculty members of UC’s College-Conservatory of Music.

Whether you’re new to chamber music or a devoted listener, this concert offers a festive and welcoming start to the season.

This concert is approximately 2 hours, including intermission.

Single tickets will be available after July 15th.

Program Notes

Luigi Boccherini (1743 – 1805)
Quintet for Strings in E Major, Op. 13, No. 5

Luigi Boccherini, the Italian-born cellist and composer, spent much of his career in Spain, where he served at the court of Don Luis, brother of King Charles III. A prolific composer of chamber music, Boccherini pioneered the string quintet with two cellos, a form he favored throughout his life. His Quintet in E Major, Op. 13, No. 5, composed in 1771, has become his most famous work thanks to its third movement minuet, a graceful dance that has long since taken on a life of its own as one of the most recognizable pieces of 18th-century music. Yet the quintet as a whole offers much more, balancing courtly elegance with virtuosic writing, particularly for the cello.

The work opens with a gentle Amoroso, an unusual slow introduction that sets a mood of tenderness rather than grandeur. This leads to a lively Allegro con spirito, full of spirited exchanges among the five instruments, with the cello often soaring into its upper register in a way that reflects Boccherini’s unique technical gifts. The famous Minuetto follows, its charming melody supported by pizzicato figures and light textures that give it a sense of intimacy and poise.

The finale, marked Rondo: Andante, is equally unconventional. Rather than a virtuosic showpiece, it is restrained and lyrical, allowing the cello to sing in close dialogue with the violins and viola. Its understated elegance contrasts with the exuberance of the central movements, leaving the impression of a composer whose refinement and invention extended far beyond his most famous minuet. Taken together, the quintet offers a window into Boccherini’s distinctive voice—one that combines grace, wit and instrumental daring within the intimate space of chamber music.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791)
Duo for Violin and Viola in B-flat Major, K. 424

Mozart composed his two duos for violin and viola, K. 423 and K. 424, in the summer of 1783 as a favor to his friend Michael Haydn, brother of Joseph. Michael had been commissioned by Archbishop Colloredo of Salzburg to write a set of six such duos, but illness prevented him from completing the task. Mozart stepped in to supply the missing works, passing them off under Haydn’s name so his colleague could avoid dismissal. Despite their modest origins, the duos display Mozart’s ingenuity at its most refined, particularly in their ability to create a full quartet-like texture with only two instruments.

The Adagio—Allegro that opens K. 424 begins with a stately slow introduction whose chromaticism immediately announces Mozart’s hand. The ensuing Allegro is a study in elegance and wit, its themes exchanged between violin and viola in playful imitation. The second movement, Andante cantabile, is a lyrical aria without words, its broad violin melody supported by double stops in the viola that create a rich harmonic backdrop.

The finale is a theme and variations, a form Mozart relished for its possibilities of contrast and invention. Here, each variation explores a different texture or character, with the viola often stepping into the spotlight as an equal partner. The movement culminates in a lively coda that transforms the theme into a spirited dance. Throughout, Mozart demonstrates his extraordinary ability to achieve depth, variety and dramatic flair within the most economical means.

Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828)
Quintet for Strings in C Major, D. 956

Completed just weeks before his death in 1828, Schubert’s String Quintet in C Major is widely regarded as one of the pinnacles of chamber music. Unlike Mozart, who added a second viola to his quintets, Schubert scored his work for two cellos, a decision that enriches the texture and expands the sonority of the ensemble. The quintet was not performed publicly until 1850, but it has since achieved iconic status, often described as one of the most profound and transcendent works in the chamber repertoire. Its combination of lyricism, harmonic daring and emotional breadth reflects the extraordinary creative surge of Schubert’s final year.

The first movement, Allegro ma non troppo, unfolds on an epic scale, its opening theme immediately shifting between light and shadow, major and minor. A lyrical second theme, introduced as a duet for the two cellos, deepens the movement’s expressive range. The Adagio that follows is among Schubert’s most moving slow movements: an ethereal, hymn-like melody in the middle strings is interrupted by a turbulent minor-key episode before returning in a state of hushed transcendence.

The Scherzo offers a burst of energy with its rhythmic vigor and sense of propulsion, but its trio section shifts suddenly to a dark, slow meditation, an oasis of stillness within the storm. The finale, Allegretto, contrasts rustic, dance-like themes with sudden turns toward poignancy and melancholy, ending the work with both exuberance and ambiguity. Across its hour-long span, the quintet traverses a remarkable emotional landscape, embodying Schubert’s unique gift for pairing sublime lyricism with an awareness of human fragility.