»Schwergewichte«

The Austro-Hungarian composer, music teacher and violinist Karl Goldmark was highly regarded by his contemporaries, mainly as the composer of several operas, even though he produced a number of extremely ambitious works in the field of chamber music. In his String Quartet in B flat major, op. 8, the composer achieved a sometimes truly orchestral sonority.

Written by Ludwig van Beethoven within a very short time for the English violin virtuoso George Bridgetowers, the Sonata for Piano and Violin No. 9 in A major, op. 47, first performed in May 1803, eclipsed anything that had been seen before in the genre in terms of scope and virtuosity. However, the work became famous under the name of Rodolphe Kreutzer, to whom Beethoven later dedicated his sonata, rather than the name of Bridgetowers, for whom it had originally been written.