Franz Schubert, Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667 “Trout”

Franz Schubert was born in Himmelpfortgrund, Austria in 1797. His father was a teacher/schoolmaster and mother was a housemaid (before marriage) and it was expected of young Franz to also become a teacher. Schubert’s father was also a musician, although he was not formally trained, he did teach Schubert fundamentals at an early age. After noticing Franz’s musical capabilities early in life, he began learning at his father’s school. His brothers and father taught him, and they even had a family string quartet. Schubert taught at his father’s school for two years, but hated it and eventually left. During this time he proceeded to study with Salieri and continued to craft his style as a composer. Schubert was well-known for his large and highly prolific musical output. He was very well-received throughout much of his career, but he did endure a great deal of hardship, particularly after contracting syphilis. Despite his illness, Schubert still composed high volumes of music. Schubert experienced popularity while working in Vienna, but still faced many financial hardships, and did not truly receive due recognition until after his early death. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMr4pDGo0KE&t=1215s 

1. The piece was composed in 1819 when Johann Vogl, a famous opera singer and admirer of Schubert, took him on a trip to Vogl’s birthplace of Steyr, Austria. On this trip, Schubert became the focus of the evening musicales which were hosted by an arts patron named Sylvester Paumgartner, who also happened to play cello (not professionally). Paumgartner loved a song of Schubert’s called “Die Forelle” (the trout), which led to the composition of Piano Quintet in A Major, as it was commissioned by Paumgartner.
2. The genre is Piano Quintet, however it is unusual instrumentation because he replaced cello with double bass. Since Schubert composed the piece for Paumgartner, who was an amateur cellist, it is speculated that he changed cello to double bass to relieve Paumgartner of the duties, as it was too difficult for his abilities on cello. 
3. The form would be sonata, containing a four movement format, but there is an interpolation with variations in the fourth movement before the unusual fifth movement concludes the piece. Most of the form is conventional, until the fourth movement which has a set of variations from Schubert’s song “Die Forelle.”
4. The piece contains classical elements that are modified in ways that reflect the Romantic period. The form is a good example because of its five movements, rather than four. In addition, the instrumentation is unusual because of the double bass taking place of the cello. In addition, this quintet was composed for private salons and domestic music consumption, which was a staple of the Romantic era. Since the piece contains these unusual elements, I would consider it to be Romantic. 

Sources:

"Classical Notes - Classical Classics - Schubert: Trout Quintet, Death and the Maiden Quartet, Wanderer Fantasy, By Peter Gutmann." Classical Notes - Classical Classics - Schubert: Trout Quintet, Death and the Maiden Quartet, Wanderer Fantasy, By Peter Gutmann. Accessed March 15, 2017. http://www.classicalnotes.net/classics/trout.html.

Schwarm, Betsy. "Trout Quintet." Encyclopædia Britannica. November 08, 2015. Accessed March 19, 2017.https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trout-Quintet.

Taruskin, Richard, and Christopher Howard. Gibbs. The Oxford history of Western music. New York: Oxford U Press, 2013. Print.