Piano Quintet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 89
by Gabriel Fauré
Composed over an extended period between 1887 and 1906, and premiered in Brussels by Eugène Ysaÿe's quartet with the composer at the piano, the Piano Quintet No. 1 in D minor is the first of Fauré's two quintets and one of the most important works in the late Romantic chamber music repertoire. Its long gestation produced a work of unusual formal and harmonic sophistication: the three movements — a Molto moderato of searching harmonic beauty, a lyrical Adagio, and a Finale of concentrated energy — trace a harmonic journey that anticipates Fauré's increasingly austere late style while retaining the melodic luminosity of his middle period. The quintet's combination of formal classicism and advanced harmonic language has made it a frequently discussed touchstone in scholarship on French late Romanticism.
Editions
Hamelle
Gabriel Fauré, 1906
Original edition authorised by the composer; the primary source text and the historical basis for all subsequent editions.
Edition Peters
Editorial staff, 1965
International edition that brought the work to wide circulation; the most commonly used performing text outside France.
Hamelle
Jean-Michel Nectoux, 1994
Revised scholarly edition with a critical commentary drawing on Fauré's manuscripts and correspondence; the preferred modern performing text.