Orli Shaham Plays Dvořák & Beach

A celebrated interpreter of both classic and lesser-known gems, pianist Orli Shaham joins members of OSL for a program featuring two masterful piano quintets—one a defining work of Czech Romanticism, the other a landmark in American chamber music.

Amy Beach’s Piano Quintet in F-sharp Minor builds on a Brahmsian model while forging her own bold voice, with sweeping gestures and harmonies displaying both reverence and originality. She premiered the piece herself alongside the Hoffmann String Quartet in Boston in 1908. The opening movement shifts between mystery and drama, while the Adagio espressivo burns with quiet intensity. The finale, Allegro agitato, surges forward with restless energy before closing in triumph.

Written in 1887, Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A major is among the finest chamber works of the 19th century. Infused with Czech folk influences, it features a soulful Dumka, a form rooted in Slavic epic ballads, and a fiery Furiant, a dance full of shifting accents and rhythmic drive. A buoyant Allegro in rondo form brings the work to a spirited close. Dvořák’s time in America, between 1892 and 1895, would leave an immediate and lasting imprint on American composers—including Amy Beach—who admired how he wove folk traditions into classical forms.

From Boston to Prague, these two quintets offer a snapshot of late Romanticism at its most expressive.

Part of Carnegie Hall’s United in Sound: America at 250 festival