Ethel Smyth did not wait for somebody to give her 'permission' to compose; obstinacy, refusal to speak, and a hunger strike were her weapons in the struggle to earn the right to study composition with Carl Reinecke in Leipzig. Along with a number of piano compositions released on cpo, operas, and orchestral works, she made significant contributions to chamber music, including the String Quartet in E minor (1884) and the String Quintet op. 1 written some two decades later – both of which are now being released for the first time on CD in performances by the Mannheim String Quartet.