Chamber Music

CHAMBER MUSIC - a chamber music piece is a composition for a solo or small group of instruments performed in a private setting (in someone's "chambers") such as a drawing room or royal court rather than a public concert hall. The most popular forms of chamber music during this time are:

Piano Sonata - solo piano

Violin Sonata - solo violin with piano accompaniment

Piano Trio - one violin, one cello, one piano

Piano Quartet - one violin, one viola, one cello, one piano

String Quartet - two violins, one viola, one cello

Wind Quintet - one flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon

Piano Quintet - a string quartet with piano OR a wind quintet with piano in place of flute

Chamber music pieces generally have either a three-movement structure similar to a concerto or a four-movement structure similar to a symphony.

The best suggestions for listening to chamber music from the Classical Period are:

HAYDN

String Quartets - Opus 33 (six of them)

String Quartets - Opus 50 (six of them).

String Quartets - Opus 71/74 (six in total).

String Quartets - Opus 76 (six of them)

MOZART

Serenade 13 "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik"

Quintet for Piano and Winds K452

Clarinet Quintet

Horn Quintet

Flute Quartet

Oboe Quartet

Piano Quartet 1

Piano Quartet 2

String Quartets Dedicated to Haydn

String Quartet 14 "Spring"

String Quartet 15

String Quartet 16

String Quartet 17 "Hunt"

String Quartet 18

String Quartet 19 "Dissonance"

BEETHOVEN

Piano Sonatas (32 of them)

Sonata for Horn and Piano Op 17
Septet Op 20
Wind Sextet Op 71

Early String Quartets

String Quartet 1

String Quartet 2 "Complimentary"

String Quartet 3

String Quartet 4 "Orphan"

String Quartet 5

String Quartet 6

Middle String Quartets

String Quartet 7 "Razumovsky 1"

String Quartet 8 "Razumovsky 2"

String Quartet 9 "Razumovsky 3"

String Quartet 10 "Harp"

String Quartet 11 "Serioso"

Late String Quartets

String Quartet 12

String Quartet 13

String Quartet 14

String Quartet 15

String Quartet 16

Grosse Fuge Opus 133