Austrian composer Franz Schubert composed the Trout Quintet, in 1819 for piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass. That’s an unusual ensemble, but Schubert evidently wrote it for a group of musicians who had gathered to play another composer’s piece, and those just happened be their instruments.
The piece’s fourth movement consists of a theme and variations, the tune of which Schubert had previously written as an adaptation of a poem called “The Trout.” The verses depict a fisherman at one of the lovely streams in the Austrian countryside. The poem begins with the fish swimming merrily in the stream. But suddenly the water becomes dangerously dark as the fisherman hooks the merry fish.
Here is an old classic movie with 5 great stars to play this music. There’s a bit of kidding around at the beginning, but be patient, and enjoy the performance:
