Piano Quintet

Quintet
For Two Violins, Viola, Cello and Piano
Op. 57

     Shostakovich turned to writing a piano quintet at the request of members of the Beethoven Quartet in the summer of 1940. He finished the first movement while on holiday in the village of Shalovo near Luga on 16 July, and the last on 14 September in Leningrad.
     Beginning with the triumphant premiere of the Quintet, which was held in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory on 23 November 1940 performed by the Beethoven Quartet and the author, this work was often performed with Shostakovich’s participation in different cities. The Moscow premiere was followed by the premiere in Leningrad, which was held in the Small Hall of the Leningrad Conservatory on 15 December 1940 performed by the Glazunov Quartet and the author.
     In March 1941, the Quintet was awarded the Stalin Prize of the first degree.
     The same year, Muzgiz published the score of the composition, the facsimile reproduction of which came out immediately in New York due to the efforts of the Am-Rus Music Corporation. After that, the Quintet was published repeatedly by such publishing houses as Muzgiz (1950), Edition Peters and Hans Sikorski (1964) and Muzyka (1968 and 1983).
     The discography of this composition includes an impressive number of recordings done by outstanding musicians and collectives and put out by well-known sound-recording companies, including during the composer’s lifetime.