Two excellent questions that one might ask ahead of our concert with the Kalesidoscope Chamber Collective (pictured) this Saturday.

First lets take a look at the Schubert and get a bit of context.  Written when he was just 22, it’s for an unusual combination of instruments – whereas Quintets are usually a string quartet plus a piano, he wrote his for the more unusual combination of piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass.

It got its name because of the fourth movement, which is a set of variations on a song Schubert had written before called, you guessed it, The Trout. Displaying some very 18th century attitudes, part of that song was a warning to young women about about being caught ‘angling’ for men. But Schubert, probably wisely, decided not to concentrate on that aspect of things and instead sought to focus on conjuring up the image of the trout in the water.

Ok, that’s a little history, but why is this piece so well known? One reason could be its pretty inventive use of the 5 piece ensemble, and in particular the piano part. The way it’s written gives the piece a unique sound, with the addition of the double bass freeing up the pianist to concentrate on their higher notes for much of the time.

A more simple reason for its popularity might just be that it’s got a lot of great tunes in it, and reflects a carefree period in the composers life – a summer holiday in the idyllic countryside which was a refreshing change for the city-dwelling young man. Cheerful, memorable, and full of fun, it’s really pretty hard to dislike as a piece of music.

Two other things which are good to know but are unlikely to have massively contributed to its popularity – it was used as the theme music for the BBC series Waiting for God, and apparently some Samsung washing machines play it when they finish a spin cycle! (see video evidence below…)

Ok, now on to the wonderfully named Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, whose music opens the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective’s concert. You will be forgiven for not being familiar with this German princess who was born in 1739, but in all honesty she should probably be better known.

Despite war and efforts to improve the economy occupying much of her time, she managed to also transform her court into a true cultural centre, with figures such as Goethe and Schiller working under her protection. She also took lessons in composition and on the keyboard and become a notable composer, writing songs and chamber music, including the Divertimento you can hear in the Festival and which perhaps shows the influence of Mozart, alongside harpsichord sonatas and larger works for orchestra.

As well as having an ability and enthusiasm for music she was also deeply interested in literature and in 1766 established the Duchess Anna Amalia Library. None other than Goethe got involved and become an important figure in the development of the library which still stands today, the home to almost a million books.

As the writer of this found out, she is most definitely not to be confused with the similarly named fellow composer Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia – with it seems the Divertimento being wrongly attributed to her in the past.

You can hear both Schubert’s Trout Quintet and the Divertimento by Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in Kaleidscope Chamber Collective’s concert on Saturday 24 August.

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