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1
Olivier Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Daniel Barenboim, DG 1979)
Instrumentation: clarinet, violin, cello and piano. Composed in 1940 while Messiaen was imprisoned in Stalag VIII-A, this transcendent masterpiece arose strictly from the instruments and captive musicians available in the camp. Daniel Barenboim joins violinist Luben Yordanoff, cellist Albert Tétard and clarinetist Claude Desurmont in a definitive recording where the piercing birdsong of the clarinet and the ecstatic, suspended cello cantilena achieve breathtaking spiritual transcendence.
2
Johannes Brahms: Trio in E-flat major, Op. 40 (Barry Tuckwell, Itzhak Perlman, Vladimir Ashkenazy)
Instrumentation: natural French horn, violin and piano. Rejecting the modern valved horn in favour of the mellow, hunting timbre of the natural Waldhorn, Brahms composed this poignant trio following the death of his mother. Barry Tuckwell's warm, rounded horn tone blends miraculously with Itzhak Perlman's singing violin and Vladimir Ashkenazy's delicate pianism, especially in the elegiac Adagio mesto.
3
Igor Stravinsky: L'Histoire du soldat (Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov, Harmonia Mundi)
Instrumentation: clarinet, bassoon, cornet, trombone, violin, double bass and percussion. Conceived during the First World War as a touring theatre piece, Stravinsky paired high and low instruments across brass, woodwind and strings like a miniature street jazz band. Violinist Isabelle Faust and pianist Alexander Melnikov lead an agile septet through razor-sharp tango, waltz and ragtime rhythms packed with caustic wit.
4
Claude Debussy: Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp (Magali Mosnier, Antoine Tamestit, Xavier de Maistre)
Instrumentation: flute, viola and harp. Debussy originally planned this sonata for flute, oboe and harp before replacing the oboe with the dusky, melancholic warmth of the viola. In this acclaimed Harmonia Mundi recording, Magali Mosnier, Antoine Tamestit and Xavier de Maistre weave gossamer textures where the woody flute, reedy viola and crystalline harp evoke ancient, mythic pastorals.
5
Béla Bartók: Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion (Martha Argerich, Nelson Freire, DG 1985)
Instrumentation: two pianos, xylophone, timpani and diverse percussion. Bartók boldly treated the pianos as percussive sound generators equal to the drums and xylophone. Martha Argerich and Nelson Freire ignite the score with fiery rhythmic chemistry alongside percussionists Peter Sadlo and Edgar Guggeis, moving seamlessly from night-music murmurs to pounding, barbaric dance syncopations.
6
Camille Saint-Saëns: Septet in E-flat major, Op. 65 (Renaud Capuçon, David Guerrier, Frank Braley)
Instrumentation: trumpet, two violins, viola, cello, double bass and piano. Saint-Saëns was dared by a Parisian chamber society to write for trumpet and piano, resulting in this neoclassical tour de force. Trumpeter David Guerrier displays pristine, noble tone that never overwhelms the string quintet or Frank Braley's sparkling piano, blending courtly baroque minuets with Parisian salon charm.
7
Francis Poulenc: Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano, FP 43 (Pascal Rogé, François Leleux, Gilbert Audin)
Instrumentation: oboe, bassoon and piano. Dedicated to Spanish composer Manuel de Falla, this exuberant trio pairs two double-reed instruments with piano to explore Poulenc's signature blend of mischievous humour and tender melancholy. Oboist François Leleux and bassoonist Gilbert Audin share infectious conversational banter over Pascal Rogé's buoyant, Mozartian keyboard textures.
8
Franz Schubert: Octet in F major, D. 803 (Melos Ensemble, Decca)
Instrumentation: clarinet, bassoon, French horn, two violins, viola, cello and double bass. Commissioned as a companion to Beethoven's Septet, Schubert expanded the format by adding a second violin to build an orchestra in miniature. The Melos Ensemble's classic recording highlights the golden blend between clarinetist Gervase de Peyer and the strings, balancing Viennese divertimento joy with poignant shadows.
9
Luciano Berio: Folk Songs (Cathy Berberian, Juilliard Ensemble, RCA 1972)
Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, viola, cello, harp and percussion. Berio orchestrated eleven traditional songs from America, Armenia, France, Sicily, Azerbaijan and Italy into an astonishing acoustic tapestry. Composed for his ex-wife Cathy Berberian, her extraordinary vocal chameleon qualities are cushioned by exotic, kaleidoscopic accompaniments that elevate folklore into visionary modern chamber art.
10
George Crumb: Vox Balaenae [Voice of the Whale] (Jan DeGaetani, Zizi Mueller, Fred Sherry)
![George Crumb: Vox Balaenae [Voice of the Whale] (Jan DeGaetani, Zizi Mueller, Fred Sherry)](/api/storage/image/view/43d66219e48341f28fc2ead78546d63c-1/LOW?v=2)
Instrumentation: electric flute, electric cello and amplified piano. Inspired by the singing of humpback whales, Crumb directed the performers to wear black half-masks to humanise the elemental forces of nature. The amplified trio uses extended techniques including singing into the flute and preparing piano strings, producing otherworldly aquatic timbres of spellbinding, ancient beauty.
11
Leoš Janáček: Concertino for Piano and Chamber Ensemble (Rudolf Firkušný, Rafael Kubelík, DG 1971)
Instrumentation: piano, two violins, viola, clarinet in E-flat, French horn and bassoon. Janáček devised this quirky chamber concerto to depict animal encounters in the Moravian countryside, beginning with just piano and horn before adding each instrument one by one. Pianist Rudolf Firkušný, Janáček's foremost pupil, executes the sharp speech-rhythms and pungent folklore motifs with peerless idiomatic authority.
12
Bohuslav Martinů: La Revue de cuisine (The Dartington Ensemble, Hyperion 1983)
Instrumentation: clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, violin, cello and piano. Written in 1927 Paris as a whimsical jazz ballet about kitchen utensils falling in love, Martinů's suite is an irresistible cocktail of Roaring Twenties popular dances. The Dartington Ensemble captures the infectious bounce of the Charleston, tango and reel, where the trumpet and clarinet trade playful jazz riffs with the rhythm section.
