Schmidt: Quintet for clarinet, strings & piano in A major

The Quintet for Piano (Left Hand), Clarinet, and String Trio in A major was the last major work completed by Franz Schmidt prior to his death. The Quintet in A major lasts about an hour and once gain sums up the composer’s piano ideal: extreme transparency, not an orchestra substitute, along with a ensemble employed with special delicacy. The second movement is an extended, poetic piano solo. In the finale the composer pulls all the stops of his talent with Mozartian lightness.