Lauded as a violinist during his lifetime, George Enescu was a true all-round musician, and contributed significantly to the development of music in Romania, often making use of Romanian folk inflections distilled to a rarefied degree. Not premièred until 1964, the Piano Quintet combines robust dance-like rhythms with a potent expressive focus and textural finesse. The Piano Quartet No. 2, written in memory of Enescu’s teacher, Gabriel Fauré, is akin to the older composer’s last chamber works in its Gallic refinement of mood, though its density of thought and subtlety of expression are typical of Enescu’s ‘late’ style.