String Quintet in C major, Op. 29

Beethoven's sole original string quintet (1801) is a cheerful, expansive work that shows the composer at the height of his early maturity. The added viola richens the texture beyond the string quartet, and Beethoven exploits all five voices with supple command. The first movement unfolds with spacious serenity, the Adagio molto espressivo is particularly tender, the scherzo brisk and humorous, and the finale a bustling perpetuum mobile that may have inspired Schubert's "Trout" Quintet finale. An underperformed treasure of the chamber repertoire.