Franz Schubert, at 22 years-old, composed his five movements Trout Quintet in 1819. It remained unpublished until a year after his death in 1829. This Quintet was dedicated for Sylvester Paumgartner, a wealthy music patron from Steyr, Austria. Unlike most piano quintet ensemble of piano and string quartet, it is written for piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass. Named ‘Trout’ because the 4th movement is a set of variations derived from Schubert’s earlier song “Die Forelle” (The Trout). The uniqueness of the Trout Quintet is due principally to the piano part, concentrating on the highest register of the instrument, with both hands playing the same melodic line an octave apart for substantial sections of it.

The four albums are:

Franz Schubert, Forellen Quintet, The Trout. Martin Helmchen, Christian Tetzlaff, Antoine Tamestit, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, Alois Posch and Aldo Baerten. Release Date: 20 Apr 2009. Label: Pentatone. 

Franz Schubert, Forellenquintett, Trout Quintet. Anne-Sophie Mutter, Daniil Trifonov, Hwayoon Lee, Maximilian Hornung and Roman Patkolo. Release Date: 3 Nov 2017. Label: Deutsche Grammophon.

Schubert, Trout Quintet. Thymos Quartet, Christoph Eschenbach, Yann Dubost and Jean-Frederic Neuburger. Release Date: 15 May 2020. Label: Avie.

​Schubert, Trout Quintet. Frank Braley, Renaud Capucon, Gerard Causse, Gautier Capucon and Alois Posch. Release Date: 1 Nov 2004. Label: Erato.

Reference: Schwarm, B. (2013). Trout Quintet, Work by Schubert. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trout-Quintet

​Sergei Rachmaninov completed his four-movement orchestral Symphony No. 2 in April 1907, in Dresden, Germany, and dedicated it to Sergei Taneyev, a Russian composer and a pupil of Tchaikovsky. His family remained in Dresden for three years at the estate of his in-laws, the Ivanovka, to escape the political turmoil that resulted in the Russian Revolution. Premiering at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg on 26 January 1908, it remains one of the composer’s most popular and best-known compositions. Although Symphony No. 2 was subjected to numerous revisions in the 1940s and 1950s, most orchestras today, exclusively play the original hour-long version. 

Four albums are:

Sergei Rachmaninoff, Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3, Isle of the Dead. Yannick Nezet-Seguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra. Release Date: 30 Jun 2023. Label: Deutsche Grammophon.

Rachmaninov Symphony No. 2. Andrew Litton and Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Release Date: 30 Oct 2015. Label: BIS.

​Rachmaninov, Symphony No. 2, Vocalise, Aleko. Andre Previn and London Symphony Orchestra. Release Date: 12 Sept 2011. Label: Warner Classics.

​Rachmaninov, Symphonies Nos 1 – 3, Symphonic Dances, Isle of the Dead, Vocalise. Mariss Jansons and St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Release Date: 24 Sept 2007. Label: Warner Classics.

Reference: (2024). Symphony No. 2, Sergei Rachmaninov. LA Phil. USA: Author. https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/3935/symphony-no-2

​Ludwig van Beethoven wrote these Cello Sonatas over a span of 19 years. His first two were composed in 1796 in Berlin, and dedicated to the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm II, who was a keen cellist. These were remarkable compositions as the norm in those days were for the cello or violin to accompany a continuo (a precursor to the modern piano), with the latter in a dominant role. These Sonatas were the first true cello sonatas ever written. The longest and most popular No. 3 Cello Sonata, composed in 1808, was dedicated to a German aristocrat, Baron Ignaz von Gleichenstein. While the last two Sonatas, No. 4 and No. 5, completed in 1815, and dedicated to a Hungarian noble, Countess Marie Erdody. The Countess was one of Beethoven’s loyal patrons. Beethoven’s cello sonatas contain features that were unconventional, with deeply probing emotional expression, and technical difficulty, particularly in his complex exploration of fugue. 

Here are four albums:

Beethoven, The Conquering Hero, Complete Works for Cello & Piano. Jennifer Kloetzel (cello) and Robert Koenig. Release Date: 21 Jan 2022. Label: Avie.

Beethoven, Die Cellosonaten. Mischa Maisky (cello) and Martha Argerich. Release Date: 1 Nov 1994. Label: Deutsche Grammophon.

Beethoven, Cello Sonatas. Steven Isserlis (cello) and Robert Levin. Release Date: 6 Jan 2014. Label: Hyperion.

​Beethoven, Cello Sonatas & Bagatelles. Roel Dieltiens (cello) and Andreas Staier. Release Date: 10 Jun 2022. Label: Harmonia Mundi.

Reference: Christiansen, K. (2020). Beethoven’s Cello Sonatas. EarSense. 
https://www.earsense.org/article/Beethovens-Cello-Sonatas/

Pyotr Iiyich Tchaikovsky composed the violin concerto in 1878, in Clarens, Switzerland, while he was recuperating from depression due to the break-up of his marriage. This 35-minute three movements concerto was eventually dedicated to Adolph Brodsky, a Russian violinist, and in 1881 performed it in its premier in Vienna, under the baton of Hans Richter. Music critics were not impressed by the concerto, but today, it is one of the best known violin concertos.

The four albums:

Tchaikovsky & Sibelius Violin Concertos. Lisa Batiashvili with Daniel Barenboim and Staatskapelle Berlin. Release Date: 4 Nov 2016. Lebal: Deutsche Grammophon.

Tchaikovsky & Barber Violin Concertos. Johan Dalene with Daniel Blendulf and Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra. Release Date: 3 Jan 2020. Label: BIS.

Tchaikovsky, None But the Lonely Heart. Daniel Lozakovich with Vladimir Spivakov and National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia. Release Date: 18 Oct 2019. Label: Deutsche Grammophon.

​Tchaikovsky, Works for Violin & Orchestra. Julia Fischer with Yakov Kreizberg and Russian National Orchestra. Release Date: 15 Jan 2007. Label: Pentatone.

Reference: (2024). Violin Concerto Peter Iiyich Tchaikovsky. LA Phil. USA: Author. https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/4507/violin-concerto