In the years 1837-42, Mendelssohn was at the height of his humanist glory, concurrently violinist, viola player, pianist, composer, conductor (of the Gewandhaus in Leipzig), still a painter in his all too rare spare time, and a newlywed… "At the moment, everything comes so easily and so nicely under my pen", he wrote, the Opus 44 Quartets with their radiant, virtuoso allegros and slow movements tinged with nostalgia—irresistible ‘songs without words’ for strings. Schumann’s String Quartets and Piano Quintet are considered his finest compositions and major works of 19th-century chamber music. This Op.44 revolutionised the instrumentation and musical character of the piano quintet and established it as a quintessentially romantic genre.

Track listing:
1-4. Mendelssohn - String Quartet, Op.44/1
Live recording 13/11/1953 Library of Congress Washington
5-8. Schumann - String Quartet, Op.41/1
Live recording 5/10/1961 Library of Congress Washington
7-10. Schumann - Piano Quintet Op.44
Recording 13/11/1959 Library of Congress Washington