Richard Strauss was a supreme composer for the orchestra, and of opera and songs, but in his earlier years he wrote a large amount of chamber music. The young Strauss was heavily influenced by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms, and it was only later that he fell under the spell of Wagner and composed the operas and programme music for which he is best known. This splendid 9-CD set of Richard Strauss’ complete chamber music encompasses a huge range of genres for a variety of instruments.

Strauss’ chamber output includes solo works and miniatures, duets, trios and quartets through to concertos, symphonies and melodrama, a once-popular genre that married music with the speaking voice. Early works of note include the mellifluous String Quartet in A Op.2, some of whose themes are modelled on Mozart, and the joyous Serenade in E flat, heard here as a piano solo, already exhibiting the lush textures that were typical of the composer. The Fugue for Piano demonstrates Strauss’ increasing command of intricate counterpoint.

Another major work is the Horn Concerto No.1 in E flat Op.11, the first concerto with which Strauss really made his mark, and where his genius is really starting to show with its bravura and freedom from traditional formal constraints. With his last major chamber work, the Violin Sonata in E flat, we can almost find the mature Strauss.

The performances are by major international instrumentalists, including renowned Straussian Wolfgang Sawallisch (piano), Ernö Sebestyen (violin), Wenn-Sinn Yang (cello), Karl-Heinz Steffens (clarinet), the Vienna String Trio and the Sinnhoffer Quartet.

Contents:
CD 1
- Two Pieces (1886): Serenade in G, Av 168
- Two Pieces (1886): Festival March in D, Av 178
- Two Pieces (1893): Arabian Dance in D Minor, Av 182, No.1
- Two Pieces (1893): Liebesliedchen in G, Av 182, No.2
- Piano Quartet in C Minor, Op.13 (1885)

CD 2
- Das Schloß Am Meere, Av 92 (1899)
- Hochzeitspräludium, Av 108 (1924)
- Enoch Arden, Op.38 (1897): Parts 1 & 2

CD 3
- Horn Concerto No.1 in E-Flat, Op.11 (1882–3) (Version For Horn And Piano)
- Horn Concerto No.2 in E-Flat, Av 132 (1942) (Version For Horn And Two Pianos)
- Andante in C For Horn and Piano, Av 86a (1888)
- Serenade in E-Flat, Op.7 (1881) (Version For Piano)
- Fugue For Piano Four-Hands, Av 81/177 (1884)
- Gavotte For Piano, Av 57 ‘Aus Alter Zeit’ (1879)

CD 4
- Suite For Winds, Op.4 (1884) (Version For Piano Four-Hands)
- Aus Italien – Symphonic Fantasy, Op.16 (1886) (Version For Piano Four-Hands)

CD 5
- Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op.8 (1882) (Version For Violin And Piano)
- Allegretto in E, Av 149 (1948)
- ‘Daphne’-Etude in G, Op.82, Av 141 For Solo Violin (1945): Andante Nach Einem Motiv Aus ‘Daphne’
- Violin Sonata in E-Flat, Op.18 (1887)

CD 6
- Cello Sonata in F, Op.6 (1881–3)
- Romance in F, Av 75 (1883)
- Variations On A Bavarian Folk Song ‘Das Dirndl Is Harb Auf Mi’ (1882)
- Quartettsatz in E-Flat, Av 211 (1879): Allegro Moderato
- String Quartet in A, Op.2 (1880)

CD 7
- 5 Klavierstücke, Op.3 (1880–81)
- Stimmungsbilder, Op.9 (1883–4)
- Piano Sonata in B Minor, Op.5 (1880–81)

CD 8
- Symphony No.2 in F Minor, Op.12 (1883–4) (Version For Piano Four-Hands)
- Serenade in E-Flat, Op.7 (1881) (Version For Piano Four-Hands): Andante
- 4 Marches (1905–7): Parade March, No.1 in E-Flat
- 4 Marches (1905–7): Parade March, No.2 in D-Flat, Av 98
- 4 Marches (1905–7): Presentation March in D-Flat, Av 99
- 4 Marches (1905–7): Military Festival March in E-Flat, Av 100

CD 9
- Capriccio Op.85 (1941) Dedicated To ‘My Friend And Collaborator, Clemens Krauss’: Dances: Passepied – Gigue – Gavotte
- Piano Trio No.1 in A, Av 37 (1877–8)
- Romance, Av 61 (1879) (Version For Clarinet And Piano)
- Romance, Av 75 (1883) (Version For Cello And Piano)
- Introduction And Theme, Av 52 (1878)
- Piano Trio No.2 in D, Av 53 (1878): II. Andante Cantabile Ma Non Troppo
- Piano Trio No.2 in D, Av 53 (1878): III. Scherzo: Allegro Assai