Unlike the Quintet in C Major Op. 29, composed in 1801, Beethoven’s other two string quintets (Op. 4 and Op. 104) are veritable rarities, extremely difficult to find on CD and almost never included in concert programmes. The present complete recording of the German composer’s string quintets, therefore, fills a gap in a catalogue that is otherwise very rich (the market offers numberless recordings of Beethoven’s symphonies, piano sonatas and quartets, for example). In addition to the three string quintets, this CD offers another Beethoven rarity, the short Fugue in D Major Op. 137, composed in 1817 and published posthumously in the autumn of 1827.

The Quartetto di Venezia, who are featured in the Dynamic catalogue with several fine recordings well received by the international critics - among them Gian Francesco Malipiero’s complete string quartets - are joined here by the violist Danilo Rossi.