Haydn was the godfather and great adventurer of the classical style – he invented the modern piano trio and string quartet and taught Mozart and Beethoven. His string quartets are among the most enduringly performed and admired works of any composer.
Schubert’s string quintet is widely thought of as one of the very greatest pieces of music ever written. Encompassing light and shade, sublime serenity and anguished drama, it represents one of the most acute musical representations of the human spirit.
In between, Maurice Ravel’s ever popular ‘Mother Goose Suite’ for two pianists is a wonderful contrast, originally written for orchestra and dedicated to the children of close friends of Ravel.
