Beethoven, Mozart, and Ravel

Overview

Beethoven wrote the Sextet in E-flat Major for the unusual combination of two horns and string quartet, with the horns functioning as a virtuosic unit and ripping up and down fiery arpeggios. The horn’s association with hunting plays into the next work on the program, Mozart’s String Quartet No. 17 (“The Hunt”), a lively, galloping affair for string quartet. The program concludes with Ravel’s Piano Trio, with nods to his Spanish heritage in its melodies.