The Etesian Ensemble has a demo CD available including tracks from the Mozart Quintet in Eb, Beethoven Quintet in Eb and Danzi Quintet in D minor, notes of which are to be found below.

To request a free copy please either email us or contact us on +44 (0) 7973 304 114.

Mozart Quintet in Eb Largo - Allegro moderato

Composed in Vienna around the same time as his six string quartets dedicated to Haydn Mozart’s quintet for fortepiano and winds K452 has the intimacy of his chamber music but at the same time shows the influence of the concerto, in the three movement format and the virtuosic nature of the piano writing.

The unusual combination of four wind instruments with fortepiano was one that had not been explored before this work. However it seems almost inevitable when one looks at Mozart's’ increasing use of winds in his piano concerti and also when taking into account his close friendships with many prominent wind players such as the clarinettist Anton Stadler who it is likely performed this work with Mozart on the 1st April 1784 in Vienna’s Nationale Hoftheater.

This concert was a resounding success and Mozart later wrote to his father describing the quintet:

I consider it the best thing I have ever written in my life. It is for 1 oboe, 1 clarinet, 1 horn, 1 bassoon and pianoforte and I wished you could have heard it - and how beautifully it was performed!

Beethoven Quintet in Eb Andante Cantabile

Though the Beethoven quintet in E flat shows influence from the Mozart quintet, such as structure, key and instrumentation, it is written on a grander, even more symphonic scale. The first public performance in 1797 was as part of a benefit concert for Beethoven’s friend and fellow musician, violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh. In this performance Beethoven himself famously performed the fortepiano part in his own inimitable way: