Quintets with two cellos

A more confidential, almost private, version of fashionable sociability, the salon retained throughout the nineteenth century its function of emulation and trend-setting in matters of musical taste. The grand operatic genre was relayed there, and the most varied instrumental forces were also experimented with. The momentary passion for the quintet with two cellos is indicative of the changing aesthetics. Indeed, it reveals simultaneously an interest in virtuosity, made possible by the presence of a ‘principal’ cello frequently employed as a soloist, and a predilection for the instrument’s romantic sound. While Schubert’s Quintet in C major is well known, we tend to forget that France produced a rich repertoire of such pieces that has yet to be rediscovered.

Concert followed by a cocktail.