Piano quintet in Eb major, op. 44 by Robert Schumann : transcribed for clarinet quartet and piano

Abstract

Few substantial works exist for clarinet quartet and piano, even though such pieces would be of great practical use to advanced students. Piano quintets transcribed for four clarinets and piano would undoubtedly retain musical value and not compromise the masterworks involved. This treatise presents an arrangement of Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet in Eb, Op. 44, transcribed for three Bb soprano clarinets and one Bb bass clarinet. The first chapter includes a historical background of chamber music literature containing clarinet quartet as well a justification for both the need and purpose for such a transcription. Chapter 2 contains the history of the piano quintet genre and an overview of Schumann’s Piano Quintet in Eb, Op. 44. Discussion of the transcription begins in Chapter 3, which includes the challenges faced and the solutions offered for transcribing this piece as well as the overall procedure used to rewrite the string parts for clarinet quartet. The actual transcription is found in Chapter 5, and the Conclusion is located in Chapter 4. The goals of this transcription are fourfold: to create a transcription that will stand on its own both as a performance piece for recitals or chamber music concerts and as a learning tool for advanced students; provide music to the often ignored genre of clarinet quartet and piano; supply additional literature to clarinet quartets; and establish what may be considered as a viable option or alternative to the piano quintet’s standard instrumentation of string quartet and piano.