The string quartet was a prime musical vehicle for the feelings let loose by the political upheavals of the time – from intimate conversation to revolutionary turbulence and the contemplation of sublime nature. In this compelling programme ground-breaking quartets by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven are linked by their creative use of Baroque fugal techniques. Haydn’s op. 20, no. 5 is an early demonstration of the possibilities of the medium for serious musical thought, a challenge taken up by Mozart in his G major ‘Spring’ quartet K387, the first of the set published in 1783 with a dedication to Haydn. Beethoven’s Razumovsky Quartets were thought impossibly difficult to understand when first performed in 1807, though a reviewer rightly wrote that the C major quartet, ‘by virtue of its individuality, melodic invention and harmonic power, is certain to win over every educated music lover’.

The Revolutionary Drawing Room is internationally renowned for its historically informed performances of music around 1800, with a sound founded on the beautiful sonority of gut strings.

‘a formidable quartet, whose virtuosity is matched by their insightful attention to every detail’ Early Music Review

‘the best kind of period performance, secure and undidactic’ Fanfare