In his youth, Shostakovich was employed as a cinema pianist, improvising soundtracks for silent films. This theatrical flair and narrative sensibility can be found in his Five Pieces for Two Violins and Piano. A suite of vignettes, each piece tells its own story and unfolds like a reel of miniature scenes. Composed during his so-called Year of Chamber Music’ , Schumann’s Piano Quintet won him the valuable approval of Richard Wagner, who remarked, ‘I liked the Quintet very much: I asked your lovely wife to play it twice.’ Guest artist Ikki Opitz’s appearance is made possible by the EMR Distinguished Visiting Artist Fund.