piano sextet

piano sextet

 

A piano sextet is a composition for piano and five other musical instruments, or a group of six musicians who perform such works. There is no standard grouping of instruments with that name, and compared to the string quartet or piano quintet literature, relatively few such compositions exist. The best-known piano sextet is probably Chausson's Concert, widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of the French chamber music literature (for example, the critic Jean Gallois describes it as "superb").

The following is an incomplete list of piano sextet composers and their works in this genre:

• Ernest Chausson (1855–1899), Concert in D major, Op. 21, composed 1891, for piano, violin, and string quartet
• Aaron Copland (1900–1990), Sextet, composed 1938, for piano, clarinet, and string quartet
• Ernő Dohnányi (1877–1960), Sextet for string trio, clarinet, horn, and piano
• Louise Farrenc (1804–1875), Sextet in C minor, op. 40, for piano and wind quintet
• Mikhail Glinka (1804–1857)
  • Grand Sextet (Sestetto originale) in E-flat major, composed 1832, for piano, string quartet, and double bass
  • Serenade (Divertimento brillante) on Themes from Bellini's La Sonnambula in A-flat major, composed 1832, for piano, string quartet, and double bass
• Gordon Jacob (1895–1984), Sextet in B-flat major, composed 1956, for piano and wind quintet
• Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959)
  • ballet, La Revue de cuisine, composed 1927, for piano, violin, cello, clarinet, bassoon, and trumpet
  • Piano Sextet, composed 1929, for piano, flute, oboe, clarinet, and two bassoons
• Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), Piano Sextet in D major, Op. 110, composed 1824, for piano, violin, two violas, cello, and double bass
• Krzysztof Penderecki (born 1933), Sextet for string trio, clarinet, horn, and piano
• Francis Poulenc (1899–1963), Sextet, composed 1939, for piano and wind quintet
• Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953), Overture on Hebrew Themes in C minor, Op. 34, for piano, clarinet, and string quartet
• Ludwig Thuille (1861–1907), Sextet in B-flat, Op. 6, for piano and wind quintet
• Felix Weingartner (1863–1942), Sextet Op.33; for piano, two violins, viola, violoncello and double bass