Das symphonische Palais

Six string players meet in this late-Romantic matinee and show how resonant expanded string line-ups can be. Max Bruch’s String Quintet has lyrical melody, clear forms and a warmly balanced sound in the Romantic tradition. Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Phantasy Quintet, by contrast, unfolds in free, single-movement form and combines pastoral colours with dense harmonic development and an individual hand.