8/2: Franz Schubert: String Quintet in C Major, D. 956

Franz Schubert scholar Brian Newbould has called the String Quintet in C the composer’s “last, and perhaps greatest, contribution to chamber music.” This is a work of art to which the word “unique” may properly be applied. A large part of its appeal is the sheer lyrical beauty of its melodies, but Schubert goes far beyond songfulness. His skillful use of the five instruments, his manipulation of form, his harmonic language, the ambiguity between major and minor modes, and the heartfelt emotional expressiveness all make this a deeply satisfying experience for performers and listeners.

The first major composer to write string quintets was Luigi Boccherini, who scored his works for two violins, one viola, and two cellos. This could have produced rather “bottom-heavy” works with a thin midrange, but he avoided the problem by writing his first-cello parts relatively high. Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms wrote quintets using two violas instead of two cellos, which tends to even out the balance; Schubert chose the two-cello model for reasons unknown to us, since no information has survived about the performers he had in mind. He may have chosen his instrumentation simply because he liked the extra-dark, extra-rich sonority provided by two cellos.

Begining in sunny C Major, the “Allegro ma non troppo” first movement soon introduces a diminished-seventh chord that serves to blur the distinction between major and minor. What may be heard as the second theme, featuring a cantabile cello duet, is in the remote key of E-Flat. G Major, the dominant of C, which “should” be the key for the whole second part of the exposition, is reached via a first-violin theme only when the exposition is drawing to a close and leading on into the development. This theme is prominently explored in the development, then all the earlier ideas are woven together for the recapitulation.

The “Adagio” movement, opening in heavenly serenity, erupts into powerful emotional turbulence in its midsection. The first section, in E Major, is a melodious string trio — second violin, viola, first cello — with commentary from the first violin and second cello, which plays pizzicato. This is meditative music presented at an unusually slow pace. A dramatic key change is no small part of the strong contrast that ensues: for his middle section Schubert migrates to the very remote key of F Minor and creates an outburst of instrumental intensity. The peaceful opening theme and opening key return, but overshadowed by lingering remnants of the storm.

In the Scherzo-Trio movement, Schubert once again exploits abrupt key and mood contrasts. A driving Scherzo theme in C Major is succeeded by a trio section in D-Flat Major: a key remote from “home.” This passage has a kind of hesitating quality, instead of the cheerful lilt we usually hear in Classic-era third movements. But then again, this is not a standard Classical work; it’s one that points ahead to the new emotional and harmonic paths of Romanticism, and gives us fascinating glimpses of the route Schubert’s music might have taken had he lived longer.

The “Allegretto” finale is a dancing conclusion with a gaiety we haven’t really heard before. The dances of both Austria and Hungary, tunes that Schubert loved, are echoed in this sonata-rondo movement that bubbles with energy and overflows with tunefulness.

There is so much intense lyrical beauty in this quintet, so many passages expressing deep longing, that it’s tempting to read into the score the composer’s premonition of death. He had been ill for some years before the piece was finished in 1828, and may have known that death was not far away. But extra-musical considerations really have nothing to do with this work’s greatness. A masterwork in terms of formal structure, rhythmic interest, and use of tone color, it is also a masterpiece of melody. The need to sing — not only with the voice but also through instruments, not just of his own feelings but of universal yearnings — was a central truth of Schubert’s personality. And the String Quintet expresses that personality in unmistakable, unforgettable terms.