Piano Quintet No. 1 (Bloch) Piano Quintet No. 1 (Bloch) Ernest Bloch's Piano Quintet No. 1 is a quintet for piano, 2 violins, viola, and cello. It is regarded as one of Bloch's greatest achievements. Composed in Cleveland in 1923, the work was markedly innovative for its time and has been described as "suffused with tension", and as embodying a "grim, angry, yet ultimately redemptive vision". There are three movements: The work is based around a motto theme built from ascending and descending fourths. The first movement falls roughly into the shape of a sonata allegro, and contrasts material of a grim tone with more
String Quintet (Bruckner) emphasized. When Bruckner composed his quintet, however, he did not yet know the late quartets of Beethoven - at least according to the statement of the Bruckner researcher Max-Auer, who reports the following: "When Göllerich confessed to this performance [meaning the first performance on 17.11.1881] Bruckner that in the quintet he thinks he recognizes a direct continuation of Beethoven's last quartet, Bruckner, in his modesty, was startled by this comparison with his most revered master, and told him that he unfortunately did not know the last quartets of Beethoven. Göllerich then gave him the scores for the next Christmas." Ernst