The Trout Pond

Dejan Lazić’s The Trout Pond offers a fresh perspective on Franz Schubert’s famous Trout Quintet. The composer and pianist takes motifs and allusions from Schubert’s song Die Forelle and transforms them into a nearly four-minute miniature full of wit, virtuosity, and playful references.
The initials F. SCH. take on special significance here, appearing repeatedly as musical material and being developed in ever-changing forms. Familiar elements shimmer into view, dissolve again, and are placed in new contexts— sometimes playfully, sometimes with virtuosic energy.
The Trout Pond was composed in 2018 as part of a project initiated by pianist Silke Avenhaus, in which five contemporary composers developed new perspectives on Schubert’s Trout Quintet. Lazić’s contribution combines virtuosic piano interpretation with a keen sense for musical allusions and proves to be an homage to Schubert that is as original as it is entertaining.