Chamber

Chamber music is defined as music that is played by a small number of preformers rather than for a larger orchestral force. Numbers can range from two performers to a small ensemble. The term chamber derives from when the music was played in chamber rooms at palaces or large houses of the wealthy. Initially chamber music was written for amateurs who would play at social gatherings. Chamber music eventually became an important part of many composers' output. By the fact of its intimate nature it was able to reveal the innermost thoughts of the composer in a way a larger orchestral work could not do. Of the various sizes of forces used over the centuries in chamber music the String Quartet has proved to be the most popular and the most enduring although composers have continued to experiment with different line-ups down to the present day.

Key Works: Beethoven: String Quartets, Cello Concertos, Violin Sonatas, Boccherini: Brahms: String Sextets Nos. 1 & 2, Clarinet Quintet, Piano Quartets Nos. 1 & 2, Horn Trio, Borodin: String Quartet No. 2, Dvorak: String Quartet No. 12 'American', Haydn: String Quartets, Mendelssohn: Octet, Mozart: Clarinet Quintet, String Quartets, Mozart: Clarinet Quintet, String Quartets, Violin Sonatas, Schoenberg: Verklarte Nacht, String Quartet No. 2, Schubert: Piano 'Trout' Quintet, String Quintet, String Quartet No. 14 'Death and the Maiden', Schumann: Piano Quintet, Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos. 1 - 15, Smetana: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2