Chamber music is a glorious subset of classical music written for small groups of instruments, meant to be played by small groups of friends and family in homes and other intimate spaces. Seeing it performed in a concert hall by professional musicians is one of my favourite things to do. I also adore playing it myself, though I haven't made the opportunity to do so in many years.
There will be more pieces of chamber music to come but let's get this started off with a Mozart piano quartet. The Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, K. 478, is something I first heard as a teenager, when I attended a summer camp called Apple Hill. The camp focuses on bringing together people of a ranges of backgrounds and ages to play music together, on the theory that the sort of listening, openness, and responsiveness one learns through making music with others can be applied to making the world a more just and peaceful place. This piece always brings back memories of being fifteen, sitting in the hayloft of an old barn, legs laced through the railings, listening in spellbound wonder as my fellow campers made their instruments sing to each other.
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