Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 47, Op. 47

Schumann's Piano Quartet (1842) was composed during his remarkable "chamber music year" alongside the Piano Quintet Op. 44 and three string quartets, and stands as one of the finest piano quartets in the standard repertoire. The work's opening Sostenuto — a hushed, searching introduction — gives way to a turbulent Allegro, while the slow movement Andante cantabile features one of Schumann's most beautiful cello solos singing over the piano's quiet accompaniment. The finale's contrapuntal development, with its canonic writing, reveals Schumann's deep engagement with Bach during this period and gives the quartet its intellectual backbone.