Beethoven composed four piano quartets when he was just 15 years old, at a time when this instrumental combination was rare, even experimental. Mozart wrote for this ensemble at around the same time, but there is no evidence that Beethoven was familiar with the works of his elder. His teacher at the time, Christian Gottlob Neefe, Kapellmeister to the Elector of Cologne, introduced him to the myriad subtleties of Mozart’s music. A man of great erudition, Neefe also taught his young protégé politics, literature and philosophy.

The Goldberg Trio, which formed within the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra and was awarded the gold medal at the Vienna International Music Competition in 2019, is joined by the French pianist David Bismuth, a pupil of Maria João Pires since the 2000s, whose Beethoven album has received numerous awards, to record this cycle, which is full of vigour and energy.