The “Trout” Quintet, like much of Schubert’s music, was never published until after his death. However, the original song, “Die Forelle,” was so popular that it was published several times within Schubert’s lifetime – once in 1820, again in 1825, and again in 1827, when it was assigned Opus 32.
Schubert decided not only to integrate “Die Forelle” into the Quintet, but to use the song for a theme and variations in the fourth of five movements. And while the flashing currents of piano accompaniment in the original song momentarily veer into minor mode (as the poem’s fisherman muddies the clear water and hooks the fish), Schubert opted for the serene beginning of “Die Forelle” as his fourth movement’s main theme, letting the more complex emotions unfold in the later variations.
The “Theme and Variations” movement begins and continues – for the first three variations – with embellishments on the original Schubert song. The fourth and fifth variations are, on the other hand, significant makeovers of the original tune. The sixth variation is a return to the theme. The song melody has been passed to each of the instruments in turn, and it is now, in the final variation, that it emerges with all of the charm of the original song.
As the first three movements led to the “Trout” theme and variations, so the fifth movement – an Allegro giusto played in the Hungarian style by the violin and viola – is a final response to it. The music, announced with a chime-like tone, quickly drops into a charming motif, which then progresses through minor keys and contrasts in articulation and dynamics for the remainder of the movement.
Here is the Schubert Ensemble to play the 4th movement (Theme and Variations) for you:
