Antonín Dvořák — Bagatelles, Nos. 1 & 5, Op. 47

In May 1878, Dvořák was asked to write a piece for a friend's home music circle — but the household had no piano, only a harmonium. The result was a charming set of five Bagatelles for two violins, cello, and harmonium (here heard in its alternative scoring for piano quartet), composed in less than two weeks. Lighthearted and unpretentious, the Bagatelles draw on the spirit of Czech folk song, with the opening movement built from the tune "Hrály dudy" ("The bagpipes were playing"). Tonight's selection offers two contrasting glimpses of this delightful, domestic miniature world.

Dmitri Shostakovich — Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57

Composed in 1940 at the invitation of the Beethoven Quartet, who wanted a work they could perform alongside the composer himself at the piano, this quintet became an immediate sensation, earning Shostakovich the inaugural Stalin Prize. Its five movements trace a striking arc: a stately Prelude gives way to a contemplative Fugue, a mischievous Scherzo, a hauntingly Bach-like Intermezzo, and a Finale built partly on a tune from the Russian circus. Beneath its wit and clarity lies real depth — a hallmark balance of irony and sincerity typical of Shostakovich at his best.

Antonín Dvořák — Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, Op. 81

Written in just seven weeks in 1887, Dvořák's second piano quintet stands alongside those of Schumann and Brahms as one of the great works for this ensemble. The lyrical opening movement gives way to a soulful "Dumka" — a Slavic lament that alternates between melancholy and sudden bursts of vitality — followed by a whirling Furiant, a fiery Bohemian dance. The joyous Finale, cast in polka rhythm, closes the work with one of Dvořák's most exuberant and folk-infused conclusions.