Sextet (Dohnányi)

The Sextet in C major for piano, violin, viola, cello, clarinet and horn, Op. 37, was composed by Ernst von Dohnányi in 1935.

History
The sextet was written in 1935 during a lengthy period of illness, during which Dohnányi was bedridden with a thrombosis for several months. It was premiered on 17 June 1935.

Structure
The sextet consists of four movements: 1. Allegro appassionata
 * The first movement is composed in sonata form and seems to allude to the symphonies of Gustav Mahler.

2. Intermezzo. Adagio
 * The second movement is a march.

3. Allegro con sentimento
 * The third movement is a scherzo held in a more classical, Mendelssohnian style.

4. Finale. Allegro vivace, giocoso
 * The final movement makes clear references to jazz, which European composers had started to embrace shortly after World War I, including Dohnányi's close friends Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály. The finale opens in a ragtime for clarinet and piano, after which the string trio responds. At the end, material of the opening movement reoccurs, in cyclicism typical for the late romantic period.

Reception
A reviewer for the Budapesti Hírlap, who attended the premiere on 17 June 1935, wrote favorably of the work: "One of the sextet's greatest values is that it is melodically original. Every tune is invented, not borrowed, and not based on a quotation."