»In höchsten Tönen«

The Frenchman Georges Auric belonged to the group of composers known as the 'Groupe des Six', which favoured a new, simple style as a reaction against the musical Impressionism of France and the Late Romantic music of Richard Wagner. In the 1930s, Auric ultimately turned increasingly to the writing of film music. This period also saw the composition of his Trio d’anches for oboe, clarinet and bassoon, a three-movement work with a clear, unpretentious structure which appeals because of its easy-going, cheerful basic tone.

The Quintet for piccolo and string quartet by the English composer Graham Waterhouse was first performed on 1 January 1990 at a private concert in London. The single-movement work is based on a structure that generally follows sonata form. One of the composer's essential intentions in the creation of the quintet was to integrate the piccolo as far as possible into the sound of the group of strings. At the same time, the large distances between the tonality of the piccolo and that of the strings are repeatedly used to produce special harmonic sound effects.

The French composer and flautist François Devienne was known to his contemporaries in the first place as the writer of numerous stage works and solo concertos for flute and bassoon. Since the 1970s, his chamber music, which is also to be admired, is undergoing a major revival following a number of modern performances and recordings. His Quartet in G minor for bassoon, violin, viola and cello, op. 73 no. 3, conveys to the listener an impression of the composer's exceptionally sensitive style.

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy wrote his String quintet no. 2 in B major, op. 87, in the summer of 1845 in Bad Soden am Taunus for a good friend, the Leipzig concert master Ferdinand David, for whom he had already composed his famous E minor violin concerto the year before. It is therefore hardly surprising that the violin part of the quintet generally feels rather concerto-like and virtuosic. Even the beginning of the work, with the upturn of the melody in the 1st violin, sounds like a reminder of the violin concerto. The scherzando in G minor is more like a form of intermezzo. The adagio that follows, however, creates an elegy with an almost orchestral-sounding impact. The finale, with which, according to a statement passed on by his friend Ignaz Moscheles, the composer was not entirely satisfied, shows – as in the linking of concertante and contrapuntal elements – all the essential characteristics that we expect today from a mature work by Mendelssohn.

Georges Auric Trio d’anches for oboe, clarinet and bassoon
Graham Waterhouse Quintet for piccolo flute and string quartet
François Devienne Quartet in G minor for bassoon, violin, viola and violoncello, opus 73 number 3
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy String quartet number 2 in B major, opus 87