Franz Schubert's Trout Quintet set for joyful rendition at Abu Dhabi Classics

Russian pianist Alexander Malofeev, who will perform with Swiss orchestra members this week, reveals why it is one of his favourites to play

At 22, Alexander Malofeev is already one of the world's leading pianists. Getty Images

Classical music composers of the past often drew inspiration from marine life. Claude Debussy's masterful Poisson d'or in 1907 attempted to capture the shimmering movements of a goldfish, while Camille Saint-Saens' Aquarium from 1922 is a dreamy suite of works dedicated to life undersea.

The most celebrated aquatic piece of its kind, however, is arguably Franz Schubert’s Trout Quintet, an 1819 composition channelling the undulating movements of a trout. The piece is set to be performed as part of Abu Dhabi Classics at Manarat Saadiyat on Wednesday and Thursday, where Russian pianist Alexander Malofeev will join a quintet from Switzerland's Lucerne Festival Orchestra.

Malofeev, 22, describes the piece as capturing “the joy and intimacy” of chamber music. "When you are talking about chamber music, you are talking as much about the atmosphere the music evokes as well as the melodies," he tells The National. "In that sense, the Trout Quintet is one of the best examples of its kind because it is joyful, sparkling and has an almost dancing rhythm that really made it a favourite with audiences.”

One of Schubert’s more accessible works, the Trout Quintet continues the Austrian composer’s zeal for innovation, according to Ronald Perlwitz, head of the music programme for the Department of Culture and Tourism − Abu Dhabi. As one of the curators of Abu Dhabi Classics, Perlwitz says the piece was responsible for cementing the double bass’s place in chamber music.

"He was inspired by the work of Johann Nepomuk Hummel, an 18th-century Austrian composer who we don't listen to much these days and was one of the first to write a quintet with a double bass," Perlwitz explains. "But when Schubert incorporated it in the Trout Quintet it really felt like an innovation because of the creativity involved. It sounded like nothing else at the time."

From melodies that dart and leap between registers and the staccato and bouncing rhythms of the double bass to the delicate and yearning string passages, the work's mirroring of a trout's movement also evokes a mood of jubilance and reverie. "There is a fair bit of moralising going on here as well," Perlwitz adds. "With some of these quick and abrupt movements of the trout, Schubert was thought to be warning young women to be weary of some of the ill intentions of some men."

But this is all done with a light touch according to Malofeev. "This is what makes it such a joy to play. Schubert has this amazing ability to create a piece with a certain technical complexity that sounds very playful and approachable," he says. "I have performed more demanding pieces in my career but the reaction to the Trout Quintet is always something special. As a musician, it is a great feeling to know that you left the stage with the audience feeling touched."

To come to Abu Dhabi and play a piece that I know will make people happy feels like the best kind of vacation

Alexander Malofeev,
pianist

In that sense, the work is an ideal way to begin the latest season of Abu Dhabi Classics, which will continue throughout the year with more complex orchestral and recital performances. "This show is perfect to bring people who may be unfamiliar with chamber music," Malofeev says. "The music is about pure enjoyment and shows, in my opinion, that classical music can be something that is light and joyful.

"We also feel this on stage. A lot of the time we musicians travel and play alone in recitals, so to come to Abu Dhabi and play a piece that I know will make people happy feels like the best kind of vacation."

Lucerne Festival Quintet with Alexander Malofeev perform at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, on Wednesday and Thursday. Shows start at 8pm and tickets start at Dh50 from Ticketmaster