Franz Krommer can be viewed as the quintessential classical composer. With original ideas, wit and fire, his earliest works bear a striking similarity to Haydn and Mozart. In his later years he approached the musical language of Beethoven and, on occasion, his stylistic devices extend into the world of expression associated with romanticism. The String Trio belongs to his later works, in which he invoked in part the drama and ferocity of Beethoven, and in part the plangent yearning of Schubert. Kontraste Köln has made a concerted effort to revive little-known compositions, and these pearls of chamber music are now once again made available to a wide audience.