William Sterndale Bennett - Piano Sextet in F Sharp Minor Op. 8 (1835)

Piano Sextet by William Sterndale Bennett. Performed by Ilona Prunyi, András Kiss, László Barsony, Ferenc Balogh ,Károly Botvay and Péter Kubina.

I. Allegro Moderato Ma Con Passione - 00:00
II. Quasi Presto - 11:45
III. Andante Grazioso - 20:10
IV. Finale - Allegro Assai Ed Energico - 28:34

From Wunderkind to the most venerated musical figure in England, Sir William Sterndale Bennett remains synonymous with English music in the romantic age. "I think hirn the most promising young musician I know", Mendelssohn declared in 1836. A few months later in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik Schumann wrote that if there were many more artists like Bennett, the future of music would be secure. The first edition of Grove's Dictionary in 1878 called Bennett the only English composer since Purcell who achieved individuality and produced works that could be considered classics, and The New Grove Dictionary of 1980 still characterizes him as "the most distinguished English composer of the Romantic school".

In May 1836 Bennett made his first trip to Germany, where he saw Mendelssohn at the Lower Rhine Festival in Düsseldorf. The following October he began an eight-month visit to the continent. Mendelssohn introduced him to Leipzig's prestigious musical circles, and soon Bennett and Schumann became fast friends. In the above-quoted article from the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, Schumann praised his new friend extravagantly and was in fact taken to task for assuming the rôle of a prophet. The twenty-year-old Bennett was then at the height of his powers, and after another three years his flame would never again burn so brightly. In January 1837 his third Piano Concerto in C minar met with universal acclaim at the Gewandhaus, and his reputation was established abraad. In the winter of 1838-39 he journeyed again to Leipzig and played his masterpiece, the fourth Concerto in F minor.

Returning to Mendelssohn's remark, which begins, "I think him the most promising young musician I know", and concludes, "... and I am convinced that if he does not become a very great musician, it is not God's will, but his own", we are led to consider the possible psychological angles of promise unfulfilled. On a basic emotional level Bennett, once the child prodigy and fêted virtuoso, needed the continuing admiration of his public and colleagues, a stimulus that was denied to him particularly at home in England. Gradually his self-confidence abandoned him, and regrettably his creative powers diminished. Between 1858 and 1873 he experienced something of a creative resurgence, but his admittedly accomplished late works lack the fresh inspiration of his youth. Still, his contributions to English music cannot be dismissed lightly. The early music, abloom with promise, remains a legacy to be rediscovered and perpetuated. In the academic and public arenas Bennett's inestimable contributions set the course of British musical life in the romantic age and laid the groundwork for the true renaissance that was to burst forth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Bennett worked on the sextet between July and December 1835, and it was first played at the Royal Academy of Music on 19th December 1838. Scored for piano, two violins, viola, cello and contrabass (or second cello), it is his largest chamber composition and considerably more ambitious than the slighter, more delicate trio which followed. Considering that it was composed between the third and fourth piano concertos, it is not surprising that the weight of the sextet is centred on the rather brilliant piano part, while the strings are given a primarily supportive rôle. The opening theme, consisting mostly of descending intervals, projects a melancholy tone, and the string accompaniment establishes the music's strongly Mendelssohnian character. In conformity with the prevailing custom, the second subject, first heard on the piano, is abbreviated and consists of a repeated two-bar phrase of decidedly romantic character. The scope of this sonata-allegro movement affords plenty of opportunity for imaginative development and virtuosic display, pursued to full advantage. The main body of the scherzo consists of a rhythmic idea and a broadly lyrical, rising motif, and in contrast the trio provides a gentler sentiment. The slow movement is again broadly lyrical, and the harmonic writing reveals Spohr's influence. The finale is alternately brilliant and tuneful with folklike appeal, providing a spirited conclusion.