Schubert’s celebrated “Trout” Quintet and Dvořák’s First Piano Quartet come together on a new LAWO Classics recording by the DSCH—Shostakovich Ensemble. Released under catalogue number LWC1423, the album pairs Schubert’s Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667, with Dvořák’s Piano Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 23, offering two contrasting perspectives on Romantic chamber music.
Written in 1819 during Schubert’s summer visit to Steyr, “The Trout” owes its distinctive instrumental combination to a commission from music patron Sylvester Paumgartner. Scored for piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass, the five-movement work incorporates the melody of Schubert’s song Die Forelle in its fourth-movement variations. The double bass gives the ensemble a resonant foundation, supporting the exchanges between piano and strings.
Dvořák composed his First Piano Quartet in 1875, completing it in just 18 days. Its three movements combine lyrical writing with rhythmic energy and folk-inspired material. A theme and variations forms the second movement, while the finale draws on rhythms associated with the Czech furiant. Pianist Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro, violinist Esther Hoppe, violist Lars Anders Tomter and cellist Christian Poltéra perform the quartet; double bassist Tiago Pinto-Ribeiro joins them for the Schubert.
The sessions took place from 26 to 29 October 2025 at the Reitstadel in Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, Germany. Vegard Landaas produced the recording, with Thomas Woldén handling balance engineering and mastering. Supported by the Portuguese Republic’s Directorate-General for the Arts, the release adds these two Romantic works to the Lisbon-based ensemble’s recorded repertoire.