# Chamber music listening guide



## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

Hi. I want to expand my listening horizons in chamber music. I love Mozart's Clarinet Quintet and Schubert's "Trout" Quintet. I have also been trying out the Saint-Saens Piano Trios (totally different!) and they're quite pleasant. I want to explore more "mainstream" chamber music (Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert), though as I may have gone too far from Mozart straight to Saint-Saens. Any single disc recommendations would be great...product images would also be helpful. Thanks. Apologies for being a slow learner.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

Starting from the Trout: Schubert's piano trios D 899 and 929, Dvorak's op.81 and Schumann's piano quintets.
From the Mozart clarinet quintet: Mozart's quintet for piano and winds K 452, string quartet K 458 "hunt", Weber's clarinet quintet.
From the Saint-Saens: Fauré's piano quartets (a bit easier than his piano quintets, I think), Chausson "concert" for violin, piano & string quartet, Ravel: piano trio, string quartet, Debussy: string quartet.

cannot do images, sorry  There are plenty of good recordings.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Brahms* - _Clarinet Sonatas_, op. 120, Nos. 1 & 2; _Clarinet Trio_, Op. 114


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Yes, Brahms! The clarinet quintet is a must. But also the piano quartets and the violin sonatas. And if the violin sonatas are working for you then you might also look at the violin sonatas of Franck and Debussy as well as the two named violin sonatas (Spring and Kreutzer) of Beethoven. The very best of Beethoven's chamber music is his series of string quartets and of piano sonatas. Also, Mozart's piano quartets. As for Saint-Saens, you say you found his piano trios "quite pleasant" (I agree - a good evaluation) but I wonder if that is enough for you at this stage.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

LouisMasterMusic said:


> Hi. I want to expand my listening horizons in chamber music. I love Mozart's Clarinet Quintet and Schubert's "Trout" Quintet. I have also been trying out the Saint-Saens Piano Trios (totally different!) and they're quite pleasant. I want to explore more "mainstream" chamber music (Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert), though as I may have gone too far from Mozart straight to Saint-Saens. Any single disc recommendations would be great...product images would also be helpful. Thanks. Apologies for being a slow learner.


This is the Haydn recording I like the most


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

Who doesn't love and admire the genius of Mendelssohn's Octet? And Robert Schumann wrote this about the D minor Piano Trio: “This is the master-trio of our time, even as Beethoven’s in B-flat and D and Schubert’s in E-flat were the masterpieces of their day; it is an exceedingly fine composition that, years hence, will still delight our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.” And so it does, especially in this outstanding performance by the Suk trio.


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## HerbertNorman (Jan 9, 2020)

As for Brahms, how about the Horn trio? Furthermore , can I entice you with the great chamber music of Dmitri Shostakovich , his SQs , piano trios and piano quintet are a must imo for someone who enjoys chamber music.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

0A few I didn't see mentioned (although I might have missed them). Schubert's late quartets (start with No. 14), his octet, an most of all his string quintet.

Brahms first piano trio, his first sextet and his two cello sonatas. Brahms published 24 works of chamber music and, with the arguable exception of his string quartets (I disagree), they are all worth hearing.

Haydn six string quartets Op. 76. Mozart wind serenades K. 361, 375, and 388.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

RICK RIEKERT said:


> Who doesn't love and admire the genius of Mendelssohn's Octet?


both of these guys seem to agree-


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

LouisMasterMusic said:


> I want to explore more "mainstream" chamber music (Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn,


For Haydn, the string quartets with nicknames are as good a place to start as any: "Bird" op.33/3, "Lark" op.64,5, "Rider" op.74,3, "Fifths" op.76,2, "Emperor" op.76,3, "Sunrise" op.76,4. There is an old (~1990) Hagen qt. with Lark and Rider and the two Jerusalem Qt. anthologies on harmonia mundi are also great intros. Or the (not as characterful) very cheap Eder (Teldec/Warner) with op.76,2-4.

Most of Beethoven's chamber music is not really the best option for beginners. Violin sonatas have been mentioned, I'd add the cello sonata #3 op.69 and the "Archduke" trio op.97.
I think all his quartets are rather tough (and I personally don't much like the apparently most popular, op.59/3, so I hesitate to recommend it), better start with Schubert's d minor, Ravel/Debussy and the Haydn and Mozart already mentioned.

Similarly, Brahms' chamber music is, I think, not always easy to get for beginners; the first trio (in the common later version) is an exception but even the piano and clarinet quintet are longish and can be a bit tough in places.

But one should listen to a certain range of music; a "problem" with some popular chamber works (like "Trout" or "American") is that they are rather untypical and thus not a big step in getting to the pieces that are less melodic or "brillant concertante".


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## Bruckner Anton II (6 mo ago)

For me, a no-brainer bargin-priced collection of chamber music with piano would be Beaux Arts Trio's complete recording on Philips. The bad thing for it, however, is that they recorded many works repeatedly. Here are a few of the works that could be easy accessible to listeners:
Mozart: piano trios, clarinet trio, piano quartets
Beethoven: piano trio 5,7
Brahms: piano quartets
Schubert: piano trios
Schumann: piano quintet, piano quartet
Mendelssohn: piano trios
Tchaikovsky: piano trio








This is BAT's 1960s recording of the piano trios togther with the clarinet trio (played by others). BAT re-recorded the 6 piano trios along with the incomplete trio K442 in 1980s in better sound.


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## Chilham (Jun 18, 2020)

The most highly recommended chamber works from my, "Journey", thread. Might help, might not.

*String Chamber Works:*
Beethoven, Ludwig van: String Quartet No. 14
Barber, Samuel: String Quartet, op. 11; including the Adagio for Strings, op. 11a
Schubert, Franz: String Quintet in C major D.956
Beethoven, Ludwig van: String Quartet No. 7 "Razumovsky Quartets"
Schubert, Franz: String Quartet No. 14 D.810 "Death & the Maiden"
Beethoven, Ludwig van: String Quartet No. 13 & Grosse Fugue Op. 130
Haydn, Franz Joseph: String Quartet Op. 76 "Erdödy" Nos. 1, 2, 3 & 5
Beethoven, Ludwig van: String Quartet no. 15 Op. 132
Schoenberg, Arnold: Verklärte Nacht
Beethoven, Ludwig van: String Quartet No. 9 "Razumovsky Quartets"
Messiaen, Olivier: Quatuor pour la fin du Temps
Dvořák, Antonín: String Quartet No. 12 Op. 96 'American'
Debussy, Claude: String Quartet in G minor
Mendelssohn, Felix: String Octet in E-flat major Op .20
Beethoven, Ludwig van: String Quartet No. 8 "Razumovsky Quartets"
Haydn, Franz Joseph: String Quartet Op. 76 "Erdödy" No. 4 "Sunrise"
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: String Quartet "Haydn" No. 19 "Dissonance"
Shostakovich, Dmitri: String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110
Ravel, Maurice: String Quartet in F
Pachelbel, Johann: Canon and Gigue in D
Boccherini, Luigi: String Quintet In E Major, Op.11 No.5 Minuet

*Piano Chamber Works:*
Schubert, Franz: Piano Quintet in A major "Trout"
Brahms, Johannes: Piano Quintet in F minor Op. 34
Schumann, Robert: Piano Quintet in E-Flat Major, Op. 44
Beethoven, Ludwig van: Piano Trio No. 7 Op. 97 "Archduke"
Schubert, Franz: Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat major
Mendelssohn, Felix: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor Op. 49
Brahms, Johannes: Piano Trio No. 1 in B, op. 8

*Wind Chamber Works: *
Brahms, Johannes: Clarinet Quintet in B minor
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: Clarinet Quintet in A major: Op. 108, K. 581


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## Chilham (Jun 18, 2020)

Mendelssohn: Piano Trios
Emmanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perman


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

Kreisler jr said:


> Starting from the Trout: Schubert's piano trios D 899 and 929, Dvorak's op.81 and Schumann's piano quintets.
> From the Mozart clarinet quintet: Mozart's quintet for piano and winds K 452, string quartet K 458 "hunt", Weber's clarinet quintet.
> From the Saint-Saens: Fauré's piano quartets (a bit easier than his piano quintets, I think), Chausson "concert" for violin, piano & string quartet, Ravel: piano trio, string quartet, Debussy: string quartet.
> 
> cannot do images, sorry  There are plenty of good recordings.


Thank you. See my private message for more feedback.


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

Kreisler jr said:


> For Haydn, the string quartets with nicknames are as good a place to start as any: "Bird" op.33/3, "Lark" op.64,5, "Rider" op.74,3, "Fifths" op.76,2, "Emperor" op.76,3, "Sunrise" op.76,4. There is an old (~1990) Hagen qt. with Lark and Rider and the two Jerusalem Qt. anthologies on harmonia mundi are also great intros. Or the (not as characterful) very cheap Eder (Teldec/Warner) with op.76,2-4.
> 
> Most of Beethoven's chamber music is not really the best option for beginners. Violin sonatas have been mentioned, I'd add the cello sonata #3 op.69 and the "Archduke" trio op.97.
> I think all his quartets are rather tough (and I personally don't much like the apparently most popular, op.59/3, so I hesitate to recommend it), better start with Schubert's d minor, Ravel/Debussy and the Haydn and Mozart already mentioned.
> ...


As above.


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

Thank you for all your recommendations. Here is my chamber music collection on Qobuz so far:

Mozart: Clarinet Quintet (coupled with the Clarinet Concerto; Martin Frost, clarinet)
Mozart: String Quartets Nos 17 ''Hunt'' & 19 ''Dissonance'' (Alban Berg Quartett)
Mozart: Music for Piano & Wind Quintet (Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet; Stephen Hough, piano)
Mozart: ''Gran Partita'' Serenade (coupled with the Divertimento No.3; Ensemble Zefiro)
Some of the Haydn Quartets on two CD's, with the Jerusalem Quartet
Beethoven ''Spring'' and ''Kreutzer Sonatas (Takako Nishazaki and Jeno Jando)
Schubert: String Quartet No.14 ''Death and the Maiden'' & Quartettsatz (The Lindsays)

Might this be a bit too much for me now though, since I have a lot of orchestral music and opera on Qobuz? My listening tends to be dominated by these two genres, with chamber music ''as and when'' (e.g. weekly, monthly). Does that sound ''wrong'' of me as a classical music lover? How often would you suggest I listen to chamber music?

Let me know your thoughts.

Louis


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## Wigmar (7 mo ago)

Here are a couple of additional brilliant chamber music works:
Mozart: sonata for violin & piano K 378
Beethoven: son. for vl & piano no 5 op 24
'Spring' 

Your choices regarding genres to listen to is not wrong, follow your heart and listen to what you want. I have listened to Schubert Lieder for a long time whime my many chamber music recordings were unplayed. The frequence of genre(s) one listens to reflects a music-aestetical dimension, as I myself like better 'An die Musik' D 547 by Schubert than e. g. symhony no 45 by Haydn, although the latter is a masterpiece.


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## Wigmar (7 mo ago)

I would suggest you listen to the genre you want to listen to, regardless of frequency.
Listen to the music you want, whenever.
I have listened only to Lieder for years, and during this period of time, all my chamber music and orchestral music recordings were untouched. Though, one day I began to listen to string quartets of Haydn.
And may I add a couple of brilliant chamber music works:
Mozart: K 378, sonata for violin & piano K 378
Beethoven: sonata for violin & piano no 5 op 24 ("Spring")

Sorry for having written the same message twice, I am clumsy regarding computer technique...


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

Wigmar said:


> I would suggest you listen to the genre you want to listen to, regardless of frequency.
> Listen to the music you want, whenever.
> I have listened only to Lieder for years, and during this period of time, all my chamber music and orchestral music recordings were untouched. Though, one day I began to listen to string quartets of Haydn.
> And may I add a couple of brilliant chamber music works:
> ...


Thanks, this sounds very reasonable.


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