Into the Romantics
Both Gabriel Fauré and Richard Strauss came of age in the late Romantic period, when composers embraced their passionate side and attempted to use music to express deep emotions like love, grief and tragedy. They found the rigid forms used by their musical forefathers too restrictive to convey these massive ideas. These two piano quartets, written just a few years apart, each display high drama and emotional intensity that make for a great pairing.