Admired by Haydn and at one time a colleague of the young Beethoven, Romberg was a prolific composer. In addition to eight operas and ten symphonies, he wrote numerous chamber pieces characteristic of a combination of early romantic and late classical style. The Flute Quintets Op. 41, brilliantly elaborated and expressively condensed four-movement compositions, illustrate the freshness of Romberg’s musical language, with its use of dance movements, occasional reflections of late eighteenth century Sturm und Drang (‘Storm and Stress’) and variations on well-known melodies.