For Żeleński, the violin lessons that he took from his childhood certainly enhanced his interest in the timbres of string instruments. It is a fact that composing chamber music later became a permanent strand to his compositional work.

Żeleński took to putting on a series of concerts at his own cost in Warsaw which saw him including works by Schumann and Haydn, but he also programmed works by other Viennese Classics and Luigi Cherubini, as well as turning to his own chamber works, not known in his homeland.

In the years 1873-1874, Warsaw had the opportunity to hear above all performances of Żeleński’s two string quartets but it wasn’t until 1904 that the death of his wife compelled him to compose the Piano Quartet in C minor, op.61 for piano, violin, viola and cello.

Among the whole chamber output of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the First Quartet in G minor for piano, violin, viola and cello, K478 has long since held a special place in the hearts of Polish music lovers. The autograph manuscript of this work is the only musical manuscript of Mozart held in the Fryderyk Chopin Museum in Warsaw.

Owned for several decades by the Hochberg-Rohnstock family of Silesia, it found itself on the territory of Poland. In 1957 it was bought from a private individual by the Chopin Society, and it is now held in the Fryderyk Chopin Museum in Warsaw. The date on this priceless autograph clearly indicates that Mozart finished the work on 16 October 1785.

The young musicians on this new recording are all prize-winning artists who have performed regularly with various orchestras worldwide.