Mahler began work on the Piano Quartet towards the end of his first year at the Vienna Conservatory, when he was around 15 or 16 years of age. The piece had its first performance on July 10, 1876 at the Conservatory with Mahler at the piano, but it is unclear from surviving documentation whether the quartet was complete at this time. In several letters, Mahler mentions a quartet or quintet, but there is no clear reference to this piano quartet. Following this performance the work was performed at the home of Dr. Theodor Billroth, who was a close friend of Johannes Brahms. The final known performance of the Quartet in the 19th century was at Iglau on September 12, 1876, with Mahler again at the piano; it was performed along with a violin sonata by Mahler that has not survived.
Date of composition | 1876 |
Premiered | 1876, July 10th in Vienna, Austria by Gustav Mahler |
First published | 1973, Musikverlag Hans Sikorski in Hamburg, Germany |
Type | Piano Quartet |
Tonality | A Minor |
Instruments |
Violin
Viola Cello Piano |
Autotranslations beta |
Gustav Mahler: Quatuor pour piano en la mineur Gustav Mahler: Quartetto per pianoforte in la minore Gustav Mahler: Quartett für Klavier a-moll |