Program notes for Piano Quartets for 5 One of the most accurate ways to describe Dvorak’s music is perhaps to say that it is strikingly appealing. If music were dinner, Debussy would be something fancy and French, Liszt would be a spicy thing, and Dvorak would be simple and awesome comfort food. Grilled cheese sandwiches. Or chocolate cake and coffee. Or in Dvorak’s Bohemia, apparently Sauerkraut Soup. Yum. Or whatever floats your boat - admittedly this is a weird analogy. A

Mozart String Quartet #19 (Dissonance) In 1785, Mozart published a set of string quartets that he dedicated to Haydn. So we’ll start there - with Haydn - for just a minute. Then we’ll get back to Mozart. Joseph Haydn revolutionized string quartet writing. We could say he invented it, except he didn’t in all the ways - string quartets (meaning music written for 4 stringed instruments - usually, but not always, 2 violins, viola and cello) existed before Haydn, but he changed

The piano was invented in (approximately) 1700 by a man called Bartolomeo Christofori. Compared to modern concert grand pianos, these first instruments were fairly small, with a five octave (60 keys) keyboard and a much quieter sound. What was new and fantastic about them was that they had dynamic range - meaning they could play both loudly and softly. As the piano evolved over the next 200 years, improvements were made that allowed for greater dynamic range, better tone qua

2 Piano Trios and their link to the Romantics the Piano Trio in b flat by Joaquin Malats , and Schubert's Piano Trio #2 are ideal...