QUINTET IN C MINOR for Violins, Viola, Violoncello and Pianoforte（1933）

Quintet in C minor, completed in Boston in March 1933, is Osawa’s greatest work in the field of chamber music. It was
composed only two and a half years after he began studying composition. A trial performance was given by Jesús Maria Sanromá,
the first solo pianist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Durrell String Quartet.
　　The work features the “quarter tone” which was a cutting-edge composition technique at the time. He first used this
technique in 1932 in his Sonata for cello and piano in G major, and he continued to refine his use of the quarter tone year after
year. After the piano quintet, he also used it in his Double Bass Concerto.
　　Throughout all the movements, the key, meter and tempo change distinctly in each section, resulting in music that is
brimming with brilliance and vitality.
Mikiko Ikushima
(English Translation: Nahoko Gotoh)